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full screen Kim Jong-Un together with his daughter Kim Ju-Ae in connection with an appearance this weekend. Photo: Korea News Service/AP/TT
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un has made an appearance with his daughter. For the first time, indications are now being given that she is seen as a future leader of the closed country.
They both attended a military exercise this weekend and, among other things, pictures have been published of when daughter Kim Ju-Ae is seen monitoring the exercise through binoculars. Most notably, however, the country’s state-run news agency referred to the daughter as a prominent figure in terms of “hyangdo” — a North Korean term roughly meaning “guidance.” According to foreign observers, the term is usually used only for the country’s top leaders and their successors.
This is the first time that Kim Ju-Ae has been elevated to the level of leader, said Yang Moo-Jin, director of the University of North Korea Studies in Seoul.
The daughter was mentioned for the first time in 2022 and has since been seen attending several different occasions, including military parades and an official visit to a weapons factory. Prior to 2022, the only confirmation of her existence was a statement by former basketball star Dennis Rodman who visited North Korea in 2013 and said he met a daughter of Kim Jong-Un.