DESPOT Kim Jong-un has been seen parading his to-be-tyrant teen daughter around town, giggling at puppies and browsing electric guitars.
The strange new pictures show Kim Jong-un with rarely seen Kim Ju-ae, thought to be 13 or 14, who is widely tipped to be her dictator dad’s successor.
In one picture, the dictator can even be seen cuddling a puppy.
The pair were photographed at the opening of a new area of 10,000 new flats in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang.
The new housing is part of a plan to build 50,000 new homes in the country.
The pictures were released as the rogue state prepares to host its biggest political event, the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party.
South Korean spies said last week that its clearer than ever that Kim Ju-ae is next-in-line to lead North Korea.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers that Ju-ae has been clearly “designated as a successor” as her tyrant dad pushes to keep the family in power for a fourth generation.
The spy agency came to the conclusion that she will be announced soon “taking into account a range of circumstances, including her increasingly prominent public presence at official events”, Lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters.
Kim Ju-ae’s first public appearance was in November 2022, during a missile launch, walking hand-in-hand with her dad.
In February, 2023 Kim Jong-un brought his daughter to work – to mark 75 years since his country’s army was founded.
The young possible heiress joined him for a banquet for military officials in a surprisingly similar outfit – black suit, white shirt, pale tie.
Kim Ju-ae has since appeared alongside him at many more events, increasing speculation that she was Kim Jong-un’s favourite child and would be handed control of the repressive regime after his death.
She stepped onto the international stage for the first time last year, when she joined the North Korean leader for a military parade in Beijing.
Speculation about the teenager intensified last month when she joined her parents on a New Years Day visit to Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.
The palace is a sacred family mausoleum which holds the embalmed bodies of her late grandfather and great-grandfather.
Some analysts saw the visit to the place a clear sign that she is next in line.
South Korean spies are watching closely to see if Kim Ju-ae appears alongside her dad at the upcoming Workers Party Congress, Seong-kweun said.
Despite her increasingly public figure, the tyrant’s teen daughter has never been officially named.
Questions also remain about whether her gender would stop Kim Ju-ae from stepping into the shoes of her despot dad.
There are rumours that she has an older brother, who would have been a candidate for succession before her, but he has never appeared in public.
What do we know about Kim Ju-ae?
by Harvey Geh
KIM Ju-ae, believed to be around 13 or 14 years old, is the eldest daughter of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju, and she is increasingly being groomed as a potential successor.
She first appeared publicly in November 2022 during a missile launch, walking hand-in-hand with her dad, instantly drawing international attention.
In September 2025, she made her international debut when she accompanied Kim Jong-un to Beijing for a military parade, signalling her growing role in state affairs.
State-controlled media have referred to her as both the “beloved” and “respected” daughter, titles usually reserved for high-ranking officials, underlining her emerging prominence.
Ju-ae has been spotted in matching outfits with her dad, including statement leather coats and designer sunglasses, suggesting she is being taught to project power and style simultaneously.
Analysts, including South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, now view her as the likely heir to her father, although formal succession plans have not been announced.
If she eventually ascends to power, she would become the first female leader in North Korea’s dynastic history, making her rise both unprecedented and highly symbolic in a male-dominated society.
