"When Kim Jong Un first permitted domestic North Korean media to publish an image of his daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, in November 2022, it was widely presumed that the intention was to portray the "supreme leader" as a proud father and family man. Wearing a fashionable white padded jacket as she watched the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, there were no indications that she might ever be selected ahead of her two brothers as the future leader of a nation that the Kim clan has ruled with an iron fist since it was established by her great-grandfather, Kim Il Sung, in 1948."
"Less than three years after she first appeared in state-run media, Kim Ju Ae, who is now believed to be 12 or 13 years old, has accompanied her father to Beijing to attend a military parade marking the end of World War II and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'Strongest candidate' to succeed her father Analysts who not long ago suggested that it would be impossible for a woman to be the North's next supreme leader are now suggesting that, despite her tender years, this critical diplomatic mission could be her anointment on the world stage as heir to the world's only communist dynasty."
Kim Ju Ae first appeared in North Korean state media in November 2022, pictured watching an ICBM test in a white padded jacket. Observers initially saw the image as a portrayal of Kim Jong Un as a proud father, with no sign she would be chosen over her two brothers as successor. Less than three years later she accompanied Kim Jong Un to Beijing for a World War II military parade and met Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Analysts now suggest the overseas appearance could signal anointment as heir despite prevailing gender expectations and her estimated age of 12–13. The Kim dynasty has ruled since 1948. Ahn Yinhay described the trip as a major international event and an indication she is one of the strongest candidates to succeed her father, although the decision has not been finalized.
Read at www.dw.com
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