North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter Ju-ae paid tribute at the family mausoleum for the first time on New Year's Day. She stood in the center of the front row alongside her father and mother, honoring the embalmed bodies of her grandfather and father. The visit has fueled speculation about her potential role in the regime's succession.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on January 1, 2026, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju and daughter Ju-ae. The site houses the embalmed bodies of his grandfather Kim Il-sung, North Korea's founder, and father Kim Jong-il, symbolizing the Kim family's power legacy. This marked Ju-ae's first known visit to the mausoleum since her debut in state media in November 2022 at the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile launch site.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported visitors' pledges of loyalty but omitted mention of Ju-ae. However, photos showed the Kim family in the front row, with Ju-ae positioned centrally between her parents. KCNA stated, "All the visitors made a firm pledge to fulfill their responsibility and duty in the vanguard of accomplishing the sacred cause for the eternal prosperity and development of the great DPRK and the promotion of the people's well-being, true to the ideas and leadership of Kim Jong Un with single-minded loyalty."
Kim Jong-un has paid annual New Year's respects since taking power in 2012, except in 2018, 2024, and 2025; his last visit was on January 1, 2023. South Korea's Unification Ministry confirmed it as the first public visit with his daughter. Deputy spokesperson Chang Yoon-jeong said, "We are closely watching as it is the first such visit. We will continue to closely monitor activities by Chairman Kim Jong-un's daughter."
Experts view the event as reinforcing Ju-ae's image as a potential successor in the Paektu bloodline. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said, "Her tribute signals that she could play a political role starting in 2026," pointing to the upcoming early-year party congress as a potential turning point. However, Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, noted, "If only Ju-ae accompanied her father, it could be viewed from a different perspective. But given Kim Jong-un's wife, Ri Sol-ju, also appeared at the location, it strongly points to a family image."
Believed to be born in 2013, the teenage Ju-ae has joined her father on inspections of military and economic sites, including a nuclear-powered submarine construction and regional factory openings late last year. State media has shifted to calling her Kim's "respected" daughter, heightening succession speculation. The visit echoes Kim Jong-un's 2010 mausoleum trip with his father, preceding his official anointing as successor.
