North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae, who is likely being prepared as his successor, accompanied her parents on her first public visit to the Kumsusan mausoleum to pay respects to former leaders, state media photos published on Friday (January 2, 2026) showed.
Ms. Kim has been making increasingly prominent appearances in state media over the past three years, fuelling speculation by analysts and South Korea’s intelligence agency that she may be in line to be the country’s fourth-generation leader.
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Cheong Seong-chang, vice president at the Sejong Institute think tank, viewed Ms. Kim’s first presence at the Kumsusan palace as her father’s calculated move ahead of the upcoming ruling party Congress at which her succession might be formalised.
Mr. Kim was also accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and senior officials on the visit on January 1, with Ms. Kim between her parents in the main hall of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, state news agency KCNA photographs showed.
