Kim Jong-un brings a guest to Beijing: His daughter and potential heir

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, travelled to Beijing this week to hobnob with the presidents of China and Russia, two of his nation’s key allies. But he seems to have had another purpose for the trip: introducing his daughter as his potential successor.Kim Ju-ae, accompanied Kim to Beijing, where he joined leaders from more than 20 countries at a military parade on Wednesday. After the special train carrying Kim’s entourage pulled into Beijing Railway Station on Tuesday, Ju-ae stood close to Kim as he was greeted by senior Chinese officials, as per photographs released by North Korean media. It is the first overseas trip that Ju-ae is known to have taken with Kim.Ju-ae, believed to be 12 years old, is the only child of Kim to have appeared in the North’s state media, which refers to her as “dear daughter”. Since late 2022, she has accompanied her father to military parades, weapons tests and other politically significant domestic events. South Korean analysts have said Kim appears to be grooming her as an heir, though they have also been careful not to jump to conclusions. The fact that he brought Ju-ae on his first trip to China in six years, and to a major gathering, is a significant new sign of her rising status, some said. Yang Moo-jin, a former president of Seoul-based University of North Korean Studies, said the girl was going through the ritual of “introducing herself” to the leadership of China, North Korea’s most important ally. The scene at the Beijing station “showed that she was being treated as No. 2 of North Korea not only at home but also abroad,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a North Korea expert at Seoul-based Sejong Institute. “By taking her to China, Kim Jong-un is sending a strong signal to the world that she is going to be his successor.”Although Kim was designated as the successor of his father, Kim Jong-il, at an early age, that status was kept secret until his father suffered a stroke in 2008. The gathering in Beijing highlighted Kim’s transformation from a nuclear-armed international pariah into a global player. He has built up diplomatic leverage by growing closer with China amid the rivalry between Beijing and Washington, and by intervening in Russia’s war against Ukraine. After the parade, Putin and Kim travelled in the Russian leader’s car to the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, where they held talks for two and a half hours, according to Russian media. Putin thanked Kim for helping his war effort in Ukraine by sending troops and weapons. Kim said he cherished the new alliance treaty the two leaders signed last year in Pyongyang. North Korea considered helping Moscow “a fraternal duty,” Kim was quoted as saying by Russian news agency Tass. “If there is anything we can do to help Russia, we will definitely do it,” he added. nyt