Why was Kim Jong-un’s ‘mysterious’ daughter to Beijing?
She is supposedly the second daughter of Kim Jon-un. News about the girl also don’t point to a certainty about her age. She was believed to be the leader’s second daughter, but last year South Korea said that “she couldn’t confirm for sure” if there really is an eldest son. The western press provides only an expectation that it would now be between 12 or 13 years old.
First image came to public only in 2022. Kim Jong-un allowed the North Korean press to publish a photo of his daughter in November 2022. At the time, it was assumed that the intention was to portray the “supreme leader” as a proud father and a householder. The image showed her and her father inspecting a ballistic missile before a test release.
It is speculated that it may be the successor of the father. The hypothesis began after the publication of the photograph in 2022 and now gained strength with her visit to Beijing, when the two found Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This is a big international event and the first time she is known that she visited a foreign country, so we have to see this as an indication that she is one of the strongest candidates to succeed her father, although this has not yet been decided.
Ahn Yinhay, Professor of International Relations at the University of Korea in Seoul to Deutsche Welle
Situation during event caught the attention of analysts. In a military parade to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the country, Marshal Pak Jong Chon, one of North Korea’s most powerful military officers, knelt before her.
Pak represents the North Korean army and basically publicly promised its loyalty to Ju AE.
Ahn Chan-il, a deserter who became a researcher and who runs the World Institute for Studies of North Korea to AFP
