North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter made her first public outing overseas as she arrived in Beijing for a massive military parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China's fight against Japan's wartime aggressions.
The North Korean leader reached China on Tuesday aboard a bulletproof train. As he got off the train, his daughter, aged around 12-13, emerged right behind him in a dark jacket. She was greeted by Chinese officials upon arrival.
Her unexpected presence has once again fuelled speculations that she is being groomed to become the first female ruler of North Korea.
Here’s what we know about Kim Jong Un’s daughter:
-Even as her official name and identity has never been confirmed officially, South Korean intelligence officials believe she is Kim Ju Ae, the daughter of Kim Jong Un, who former American basketball player Dennis Rodman said he met and held as a baby during a visit in 2013.
-Making her first appearance on the global diplomatic stage, the school-aged girl joined the Beijing trip -- a moment likened to Kim’s own 2010 China visit, during which he reportedly accompanied his father, Kim Jong II, to meet then-President Hu Jintao.
-According to South Korean intelligence officials cited by Bloomberg, the 13-year-old is being trained to take over the country, which has been ruled by the Kim family since its founding in the 1940s. She is believed to be one of two or possibly three children of Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju.
-Ju Ae – who has been termed as “respected” and “beloved” daughter by North Korean state media – made her first public appearance in 2022 at the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Since then, she has appeared alongside her father at a number of events.
- Her Beijing trip, however, marks the first time she has been seen outside of North Korea. While she did not appear with Kim Jong Un at the military parade, analysts say her first foreign trip confirms her as a likely "front runner" to become North Korea's next supreme leader, according to Reuters.
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