Kim Jong-un’s ‘most beloved’ daughter makes second public appearance, sparking succession rumours

Kim Jong-un and his daughter took group photos with team members behind the recent launch of a Hwasong-17 missile

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter seen following the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, at an unidentified location (Associated Press/ KCNA)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter made her second public appearance in the country’s state media on Sunday, being pictured alongside missile scientists involved in the test-launch of a nuclear-armed Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Believed to be named Ju Ae, the public display of the second daughter of North Korea’s leader has sparked talk of whether she is being groomed to one day take over as his successor in ruling the hermit kingdom.

State media reports called the daughter, speculated to be about 9 or 10 years old, more honorific titles like Mr Kim’s “most beloved” and “precious” child.

The father-daughter duo took group photos with soldiers, scientists and other team members behind the launch of the Hwasong-17 missile, North Korea’s longest-range ICBM to date, and declared the missile system’s development stage complete.

Ju was seen wearing a black overcoat and hair partially tied back as she was flanked by her father, who also wore a signature black leather overcoat.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center right, and his daughter, center left, with soldiers, pose for a photo, following the launch of what it says a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (Associated Press/ KCNA)

Mr Kim and his daughter also took photos with more than a hundred soldiers against the backdrop of the nuclear missile and its launcher, dubbed the “world’s strongest strategic weapon” by state media agency KCNA. Analysts said it remained unclear if it was a real missile or a dummy used for display.

The pre-teen took after her mother Ri Sol Ju and displayed a more groomed and mature look as compared to her first appearance last week, triggering a flurry of speculation among Korean commentators and experts.

In her first photo, Ju walked hand-in-hand with her father who showed her the huge missile loaded on a launch truck. The two were also pictured watching the weapon soar through the sky.

The repeated public appearances signal the likelihood that Ju has been selected as a potential next-in-line for the Korean administration, experts have said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, and his daughter, center left, pose with soldiers for a photo, in front of what it says a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, at unidentified location in North Korea (Associated Press/ KCNA)

Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, called the move “certainly striking” and said: “The photograph of Kim Ju Ae standing alongside her father while being celebrated by technicians and scientists involved in the latest ICBM launch would support the idea that this is the start of her being positioned as a potential successor.”

He added: "State media underscoring her father’s love for her further underscores this, I think. Finally, both of her initial public appearances have been in the context of strategic nuclear weapons – the crown jewels of North Korea’s national defence capabilities.”

This fact “doesn’t strike me as coincidental”, Mr Panda said.

But experts have also raised questions around North Korea’s unwritten rules of inheritance for the top seat job – which has so far been handed down through three generations of men in the same family and reflects the male-dominated, patriarchal nature of North Korean society.

Mr Kim also has a son, according to intelligence reports by South Korea, which believes the North Korean leader has three children — born in 2010, 2013 and 2017 — and that the first child is a son while the third is a daughter.

Soo Kim, a security analyst at the California-based Rand Corporation, said it is too early to draw any conclusions.

"We’ve been told that Kim has three children, including possibly a son. If this is true, and if we assume that the male child – who has yet to be revealed – will be the heir, is Ju Ae truly Kim’s most ‘precious,’ from a succession standpoint?" she said.

On the other hand, Mr Kim may think his daughter’s unveiling is an effective distraction while conditioning Washington, Seoul and others to get used to North Korea possessing viable nuclear weapons, as "the spectacle of Ju Ae appears to eclipse the intensifying gravity of North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat," she said.

By parading his daughter around them, Mr Kim could also be sending the message to his people that nuclear weapons are the sole guarantor for the country’s future, she added.