The teenage daughter of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un drove a military tank on Friday, with analysts suggesting Ju Ae could be next in line to succeed her father.
Kim’s daughter, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae, was said to be around 13 years old and was seen driving the tank with her father sitting behind her, photos released by state news agency KCNA showed on Friday.
The photos showed the teenager looking out of the driver’s hatch with intense concentration, Kim grinning and leaning against the turret, and three uniformed military officials sitting in the back of the car.
The photos were taken during an event where Kim oversaw a drill of a new type of tank that has demonstrated superior offensive and defensive capabilities against drones and anti-tank missiles, KCNA said.
Recently, Ju Ae’s public appearances have also become more frequent —–li this month, the teenager made another military-related public appearance.
In one instance, Ju was shown at a shooting range firing a rifle, while on another occasion she was photographed firing a handgun.
Since 2022, Ju Ae has accompanied her father to a number of major military events, leading to speculation that she could be Kim’s likely successor.
She made her first public appearance during a long-range missile test in 2022 and has since attended several weapons tests, military parades and factory openings, and even accompanied her father to Beijing last September for Kim’s first summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in six years.
Speculation has been fueled by North Korean media, which has described the 13-year-old as the supreme leader’s “most loved” or “respected” child, according to the AP, and has even released footage and photos suggesting their closeness.
With the teenager making more public appearances, South Korea’s spy agency said last month that Kim was close to naming her as his successor.
In February, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) noted a change in the terminology used to describe Kim’s daughter.
“In the past (NIS) described Kim Ju Ae as in the middle of ‘successor training.’ Today, it was remarkable that they used the term ‘successor phase,’ which is a shift that is quite significant,” lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting, said, according to the AP.
