North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae, has made her first public visit to the mausoleum housing her grandfather and great-grandfather, a symbolic appearance that has intensified speculation she is being groomed as the country’s next leader.
State media images released on Friday showed Kim Jong Un visiting the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on New Year’s Day, accompanied by senior officials, his wife Ri Sol Ju and their daughter. The sprawling mausoleum houses the embalmed bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, revered in state propaganda as the nation’s “eternal leaders”.
Read More: Kim Jong Un oversees nuclear submarine, missile test
The Kim family has ruled North Korea for more than seven decades, with power passed down through what the regime calls the “Paektu bloodline”. Kim Jong Un, who took power in 2011, is the third generation of the family to lead the nuclear-armed state.
Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, made her first known public visit to the Kim family mausoleum on New Year’s Day, a move experts say could strengthen the narrative of her as a potential successor.
https://t.co/sSGnmFbOFJ pic.twitter.com/2g8rFZkuC1— The Korea Herald 코리아헤럴드 (@TheKoreaHerald) January 2, 2026
Analysts say Kim Ju Ae’s prominent presence at the mausoleum carries deep symbolic weight. Cheong Seong-chang of Seoul’s Sejong Institute noted that she was positioned in the centre of the front row — a place typically reserved for the supreme leader — during the visit. He said the scene could be interpreted as formally presenting her to the “eternal leaders” as Kim’s chosen successor.
South Korea’s intelligence agency said last year it believes Kim Ju Ae is next in line to lead the country, following her increasing appearances at high-profile events alongside her father. She was first publicly introduced in 2022 when she attended an intercontinental ballistic missile launch with Kim Jong Un.
Since then, North Korean state media have elevated her status, referring to her as “the beloved child” and a “great person of guidance”, language traditionally reserved for top leadership figures.
Read More: North Korea’s Kim visits nuclear subs as Putin hails ‘invincible’ bond
Analysts have suggested Kim Ju Ae could soon be appointed to a senior ruling party position, potentially at an upcoming Workers’ Party congress. Her growing visibility signals what may be the clearest indication yet of an impending fourth-generation dynastic succession in North Korea.