Kim Jong-un’s daughter in shock appearance fuelling speculation about new leader

Teenager Kim Ju-ae was seen alongside her father Kim Jong-un as North Korea’s ruling family arrived as distinguished guests at a massive military parade in China

Kim Jong-un’s daughter has made a rare public appearance on an official trip to China^[1] – fuelling speculation that she could become North Korea’s next leader.

Photographs showed Kim Ju-ae arriving in Beijing alongside her father on his private armoured train yesterday as they prepared to join China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin^[2] and other world^[3] leaders for a huge parade marking 80 years since Japan’s formal surrender at the end of WW2^[4]. Believed to be in her early teens, the North Korean dictator’s daughter is not usually seen in public, with any appearances of the Kim family strictly controlled by the Pyongyang regime.

Though little is known about her personal life, South Korea’s top intelligence agency has suggested she is “most likely” being prepared to take over from her father.Understood to be Kim’s second eldest child, in recent times she has adopted the designation of “respected” daughter, a term typically used for North Korea’s most venerated figures. Other recent appearances include test launches of ballistic missiles and the opening of Wonsan Kalma, a new holiday resort on North Korea’s east coast.

The new title puts her in prime position to become the nation’s next ‘supreme leader’ – the first in the isolated nation’s history.

Kim Jong-un was meanwhile photographed smiling shoulder-to-shoulder with Russian president Vladimir Putin as they arrived as distinguished guests at the massive military parade in Beijing.

Both now in the orbit of China’s Xi Jingping, the two nations have grown closer since the beginning of the war in Ukraine^[5], with over 2,000 North Korean troops estimated to have died at the front while supporting Putin’s army. A short speech given at the sidelines of yesterday’s event saw Kim tell Putin it was North Korea’s “fraternal duty” to help Russia^[6] fight the war.

The grand military ceremony, which included a huge parade of Chinese armed forces^[7] and weaponry down Beijing’s central Chang’an Avenue, ended with a speech by Xi which signalled that his nation was ready for conflict should it come.

He told the crowds: “The Chinese people are a people that are not afraid of violence and are self-reliant and strong.”

“We will adhere to the path of peaceful development and work hand in hand with people of all countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind.”

In total, 26 world leaders attended the parade – but one man who was not invited was US president Donald Trump^[8], who hit out at the Russian and North Korean leaders in a post on his Truth Social platform. He wrote: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the United States of America.”