Kim Jong Un’s Teenage Daughter Joins Military Drill Amid Succession Conversations
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, inspect a completed hotel in Samjiyon, northeast of Pyongyang, North Korea, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared with his teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, at a high-profile military drill, a public statement that has intensified speculation about her future role in the state’s leadership.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released images depicting Kim Ju Ae inside of a tank, under assistance of her father and senior military officers during the exercise. She first appeared in state media in 2022 at a missile launch event, and her visibility has steadily increased since then.
The succession of North Korean leaders has long been shrouded in secrecy. Historically, power has passed within the Kim family through intentional positioning of heirs at key political and military events, a pattern seen when Kim Jong Un succeeded his father, Kim Jong Il, after years of carefully managed public appearances. In a closed-door briefing to South Korean lawmakers in early April 2026, National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-seok said the agency now considers the leader’s daughter to be in a designated position as an heir. Her public appearances help establish legitimacy both in the eyes of North Korean elites as well as the broader population.
A TV screen shows an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter, left, atteding a paramilitary parade ceremony marking North Korea's 75th founding anniversary in Pyongyang, North Korea, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Observers also note that her emergence as a potential successor carries additional symbolic weight given her gender. North Korea’s political system has traditionally been patriarchal, and no woman has ever formally held the position of supreme leader. The question of Kim Ju Ae’s succession will be dependent on the regime’s willingness to adapt long-standing norms in service of preserving the Kim family’s dynastic rule.
Despite these assessments, analysts caution that official North Korean documentation of succession such as an explicit declaration or formal title has not been issued by Pyongyang and may not occur for some time. The country’s opaque power structures make external interpretations of such signals difficult and inherently uncertain.
As conversations surrounding the potential heiress ensue, neighboring capitals of Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing are closely watching how Pyongyang navigates its internal leadership transition, as any instability could affect regional security dynamics particularly around North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.