This picture, launched by North Korean state media, exhibits Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of chief Kim Jong-un, strolling forward of her father as they go to newly constructed amenities close to Pyongyang on Dec. 15, 2025. (KCNA/Yonhap)
North Korean media ran footage of Kim Ju-ae strolling in entrance of her father Kim Jong-un throughout a current web site go to. Whereas some assume these media spots are meant to strengthen her place as successor, others counter that such images wouldn’t be launched if she had been the true inheritor.
The Rodong Sinmun, the official organ of North Korea’s ruling occasion, ran a seven-page story in its Tuesday version about ribbon-cutting ceremonies for native factories in Kangdong County close to Pyongyang, Sinyang County in South Pyongan Province, Rangrim County in Chagang Province, Taegwan County in North Pyongan Province and Puryong County in North Hamgyong Province.
The newly accomplished factories within the three counties — together with the one in Kangdong County, visited by Kim himself — are the primary of 20 county-level factories being constructed this yr.
Kim Jong-un was accompanied on the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Kangdong by his daughter Kim Ju-ae and his spouse Ri Sol-ju. This was Ri’s first public look in half a yr, since she accompanied her husband to the ribbon-cutting of the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Vacationer Zone on June 24. But it surely was solely 19 days since Kim Ju-ae’s final public look, a ceremony commemorating the eightieth anniversary of the institution of the North Korean air pressure on Nov. 28.
Whereas the Rodong Sinmun didn’t remark instantly on Kim Ju-ae’s presence, a number of pages carried images by which she appeared alongside her father. One {photograph} that has acquired specific consideration exhibits Kim Ju-ae strolling in entrance of the North Korean chief.
On Nov. 28, 2025, Kim Ju-ae was proven shaking fingers with fighter pilots through the ceremony for the eightieth anniversary of the air pressure’s institution. (nonetheless from Korea Central TV/Yonhap)
Officers from South Korea’s Nationwide Intelligence Service testified earlier than the Nationwide Meeting’s Intelligence Committee on Sept. 11 that Kim Jong-un was “within the means of finalizing a succession narrative” when he introduced his daughter with him to China’s celebration of the eightieth anniversary of victory in World Warfare II in Beijing on Sept. 3. The spy company additionally asserted that Kim has “adequately constructed the revolutionary narrative needed for the place of a presumptive successor.”
Given these circumstances, some analysts assume that the {photograph} of Kim Ju-ae shaking fingers with fighter pilots through the ceremony for the eightieth anniversary of the air pressure’s institution and the newest {photograph} of her strolling in entrance of her father are designed to underscore her standing as inheritor obvious.
However different specialists advise towards studying an excessive amount of into these images. Specifically, the newest {photograph} will not be the primary to point out Kim Ju-ae in entrance of her father. Though such images aren’t frequent, a number of have been printed since she started her public actions. After the 2 Kims visited the first Air Power Division Flying Regiment on Nov. 30, 2023, for instance, the Rodong Sinmun ran {a photograph} of Kim Ju-ae, sporting sun shades, standing within the very middle of the body, along with her father standing behind her.
Some analysts argue that, given the character of energy, the successor by no means stands in entrance of the supreme chief.
“Once we see images of Kim Jong-un standing behind his daughter or standing alongside her and holding her hand, probably the most pure framing is father and daughter, reasonably than chief and successor,” stated a former high-ranking official with expertise in studying the tea leaves about developments in North Korea.
“Not one of the images in right now’s Rodong Sinmun supply new insights,” commented an official with South Korea’s Ministry of Unification.
The Rodong Sinmun reported on Tuesday that Kim Jong-un had burdened that “attaining the development of the provinces and offering the individuals with the noble fruits of renaissance and civilization are jobs that have to be unconditionally pursued by our Celebration” whereas attending the ribbon-cutting for a group middle (together with a barber store and bathhouse) and a manufacturing facility in Kangdong County as a part of his signature 20×10 Regional Improvement Coverage.
By Lee Je-hun, senior employees author
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