North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought his young daughter to a soccer game celebrating the birthday of his late father, state media said on Saturday, her latest in a series of public appearances that have triggered speculation she is being prepped for a future leadership role.
Key points:
- Kim Jong Un’s daughter Kim Jong Ae, believed to be around 10 years old, was first shown on state media in November
- Her appearance on Friday is the first that was not overtly related to her father’s nuclear arms ambitions
- Her new public profile has sparked speculation about Kim Jong Un’s succession plans
The official Korean Central News Agency said the presence of Kim and his “beloved” daughter, known as Kim Ju Ae and believed to be around 10 years old, brought “joy and excitement” to Friday’s ceremonial game between staff members from North Korea’s cabinet and its defence ministry.
The defence ministry team won the match 3-1 and then beat the cabinet staff again in a tug-of-war event, according to the report, which didn’t mention any comments made by Kim.
The event was to celebrate the birthday of the late Kim Jong Il, the country’s previous leader and the father of the current ruler.
“The stadium was filled with joy and excitement of officials of the cabinet and the ministry of national defence who had the great honour of holding significant sports and cultural events on the spring holiday of February in the presence of Kim Jong Un, whom they wanted to see even in their dreams,” the KCNA report said.
It said all participants at the event made a “firm pledge to serve the people with devotion with renewed courage and in high spirits”.
Photos published by North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim and his daughter smiling and clapping from the VIP seats, where they sat in the centre between senior government and military officials.
Kim Yo Jong, Kim’s sister and one of his top foreign policy officials, was seen sitting in a row behind them.
Succession, nuclear politics possible reasons for daughter’s sudden appearance
The event marked the sixth known public appearance of Kim Ju Ae, but the first that wasn’t overtly related to her father’s nuclear arms ambitions.
She was first shown on state media in November, when Kim Jong Un brought her to observe a flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
She also appeared with her father in a huge military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, last week, when troops rolled out more than a dozen ICBMs — an unprecedented number that underscored how Kim continues to expand his military capabilities despite limited resources while diplomacy remains stalled.
Prior to the parade, Kim Ju Ae also joined her father in a visit to troops, where she sat in the seat of honour at a banquet while being flanked by her parents and generals.
She also appears alongside her father in several new postal stamps released on Friday to mark the November ICBM test, which the North has described as a success.
Analysts say Kim Ju Ae’s appearances at major events tied to the country’s military is her father’s way of reminding the world he will never voluntarily surrender his nuclear weapons and missiles, which he clearly sees as the strongest guarantee of his survival and the extension of his family’s dynastic rule.
Her prominent exposure in state media could also be aimed at strengthening domestic loyalty to the Kim family and preparing for a future hereditary transfer of power.
While North Korean state media’s lofty descriptions of Kim Ju Ae, who has been called “beloved” and “respected,” have fuelled speculation she is being primed as a future leader, South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Youngse downplayed that possibility during a parliamentary session on Wednesday.
Mr Kwon, Seoul’s top point man on North Korea, said Kim Jong Un’s relatively young age — believed to be 39 — and North Korea’s male-dominated power hierarchy make it questionable whether Kim Ju Ae is being groomed as his successor.
North Korea fires long-range missile after warning US, South Korea over drills
North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, after Pyongyang warned of a strong response to upcoming US-South Korea military drills.
Japanese authorities said it splashed down in waters inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone more than an hour after it was launched, suggesting the weapon was one of the North’s largest missiles.
It came after Pyongyang on Friday threatened an “unprecedentedly persistent, strong” response as South Korea and the United States geared up for annual military exercises, part of efforts to fend off the North’s growing nuclear and missile threats.
Saturday’s long-range missile was launched from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, South Korea’s military said.
Sunan is the site of the Pyongyang International Airport, where North Korea has conducted most of its recent ICBM tests.
North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes are banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions, but Pyongyang says its weapons development is necessary to counter “hostile policies” by Washington and its allies.
AP/Reuters