Seoul [South Kore], January 2: Kim Ju-ae, daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, visited Kumsusan Palace of the Sun for the first time. Kumsusan is also known as the Kim Il-sung Mausoleum, the resting place of the late President Kim Il-sung and the late leader Kim Jong-il.
The KCNA news agency reported today, January 2nd, that leader Kim Jong-un and high-ranking officials visited the Kumsusan Mausoleum on New Year's Day, January 1st.
Through the images accompanying the article, Kim Ju-ae's daughter was seen accompanying her father. Kim Jong-un's wife, Ri Sol-ju, also appeared on the occasion.
A series of images published by KCNA on the same day also showed Kim Ju-ae accompanying her father to New Year's celebrations held in Pyongyang on January 1.
These images, along with her visit to the Kumsusan mausoleum, received close attention from observers and were believed to be aimed at solidifying Kim Ju-ae's position as a potential successor to her father.
Last year, South Korean intelligence concluded that Kim Ju-ae is now considered the next successor to Kim Jong-un, after she appeared with her father on a high-level visit to Beijing, China, in September 2025.
Kim Ju-ae first appeared in public in 2022, when she accompanied her father to observe a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Since then, North Korean state media has referred to her as "the beloved child" and "the great leader," a term typically reserved for supreme leaders and their successors in Korean.
Prior to 2022, the only confirmed information about Kim Ju-ae came from former NBA star Dennis Rodman during his visit to North Korea in 2013.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
