Could This Be North Korea’s Kim Jong Un’s Apparent Heir?

Concerns regarding the Kim family’s succession plans were raised when North Korean leader; Kim Jong Un’s daughter attended a celebration of the country’s military. According to Tuesday’s state-run media, the North Korean leader attended a military banquet with his daughter.

At the banquet, the girl, who was seated next to her father and was assumed to be Kim Ju Ae, the second child of the couple, was dressed in a black suit. Kim Jong Un has made his 9-year-old daughter public four times as far as is known.

Kim Ju Ae is seen in photos standing close to her father as he shakes hands with senior officials before sitting down next to him at a table. According to the Wall Street Journal, military leaders bowed before Kim, and state media portrayed her as the leader’s cherished and revered daughter, which led some North Korean watchers to speculate that she would be the next in line to head the nuclear-armed nation.

In addition to going with her father to a meeting with military scientists and a ballistic missile inspection, she witnessed an intercontinental ballistic missile flight test in November. Since that time, she has gone with her father to see military scientists and look at ballistic missiles.

Also Read: North-koreans-worried-over-emaciated-kim-jong-un-state-media-says

Many contend that these rumors are unfounded, however, and point out that based on her public outings, she isn’t thought to be a potential successor. Mr. Hong who spoke to WSJ said “Kim Ju Ae’s appearances are performative in nature and it’s too early to view her as the successor.”

The visit came before a major military parade that reportedly started on Wednesday night in Pyongyang, the capital, where Kim was anticipated to display the newest equipment of his rapidly expanding nuclear weapons program, which fuels alarm among its neighbors and the United States.

Two South Korean officials estimated that the procession probably began at nine o’clock. It was unclear whether Kim would be there right away because they didn’t give any other information. Since North Korea frequently displays newly developed weaponry equipment that it eventually plans to test and deploy, foreign governments and analysts pay close attention to its military parades.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency of North Korea, he visited the general officers’ quarters of the Korean People’s Army on Wednesday with his daughter. Later, at a banquet, he addressed the troops and gave them a motivational speech, congratulating them for maintaining the “strongest army in the world” despite external challenges.

The visit came a day after Kim called for an expansion of combat drills to sharpen war readiness during a meeting with his top military brass. The North Korean leader is looking to intensify his already provocative run of weapons demonstrations in response to rising tensions with his neighbors and Washington.