
Recently the daughter of Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, has been appearing increasingly in the news. The North Korean state media and officials have even begun treating her differently, moving from treating her as a beloved princess to a highly-respected individual. This begs the question, is Kim Ju Ae being groomed as the next leader of North Korea?
What We Know About Kim Ju Ae

As you can imagine, little is truly known about Kim Ju Ae. The international community didnโt even know her name until it was leaked by the amazing Dennis Rodman, a basketball player that has a special relationship with Kim Jong Un.
Rodmanโs relationship with the murderous dictator of North Korea is so special that heโs even said he is his โfriend for life.โ Odd choice of words for someone that suppresses millions and is responsible for the deaths of thousands, but you do you, Dennis Rodman.
Going back to Kim Ju Ae, we know she is Kimโs daughter and that she is approximately ten or eleven years old. She hasnโt appeared publicly until this past November, walking hand-in-hand with her father as he oversaw the test launch of one of North Koreaโs nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Other than that, we donโt know much. She also possibly has siblings, maybe two, but itโs not confirmed. The Kim regime is extremely secretive about their family, especially possible heirs and future leaders of North Korea. The fact that Kim is showing her so publicly and parading her around in videos is slightly unusual for North Korea.
No More Kim Ju Aeโs
The Kim regime loves to dictate exactly what its citizens can and cannot do. From a list of approved haircuts to banned foreign media, there is almost a rule regarding everything in North Korea. Recently added to that list this past February is that no one can be named Kim Ju Ae except for her.
This even applied to people already named Ju Ae. A South Korean news outlet was told by anonymous sources in the north that any parents with a girl named Ju Ae have been ordered to change their daughterโs name. Knowing North Korea, this isnโt going to be punished by a simple fine. The authoritarian state has been known to torture and execute citizens for the simplest infractions.
Will Kim Ju Ae Be President?
Many speculate that the reason for this change is that Kim Jong Un is preparing the country for his daughterโs eventual political career. While Kim Jong Un undoubtedly wants her to hold some sort of office in the country, the idea of her being president of North Korea seems a little far-fetched.
The Peopleโs Democratic Republic of Korea has, historically, been a male-led nation. The original leader of North Korea was Kim Il Sung. He ruled until his death, after which his son Kim Jong Il came to power. Kim Jong Ilโs passing was marked by Kim Jong Unโs rise to power and the continuation of the Kim regime.
Itโs speculated, and almost certain, that Kim Jong Un has a son or two, so for him to pass the torch to Kim Ju Ae would be unprecedented. It would also almost certainly cause a struggle for power. We saw how Kim Jong Un deals with potential rebellion when he had his own uncle executed in 2013 and his half-brother assassinated in Malaysia back in 2017 by a deadly nerve agent.

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It also should be noted that Kim Jong Un is also only 39, meaning that he still has a long reign ahead of him if life expectancy rates hold and he doesnโt meet an untimely death. While he is slightly more โprogressiveโ than North Koreaโs past two leaders, thereโs no reason to expect him to pass the torch to his daughter right now.
North Korean Propaganda and Kim Ju Ae

Itโs highly unlikely Kim Ju Ae will become president of North Korea anytime soon, or even possibly after Kim Jong Unโs death. That said, it is interesting to watch Kim Jong Un play the family man in a country full of strife and suffering caused by his own hand.
North Korea is full of propaganda and symbolism regarding the Kims. Itโs more than likely that Kim Jong Un is using his daughter to push that further and show North Korea and the world a message.
The North Korean state media has even moved from calling her โbelovedโ to โrespected,โ a title typically reserved for only the highest members of North Korean society like Kim Jong Un himself. Kim Jong Un was only given the title of respect after he was made leader suggesting that they want the average North Korean to begin thinking of her as a โgodlyโ figure like her father.
Wrap Up
All-in-all, itโs tough to say what will be the future for Kim Ju Ae. She will almost certainly hold some sort of political office and position of power in North Korea, but with her father still ruling and two or more possible siblings, itโs unlikely that she will be the chosen one once her father dies. Even then, her father is unlikely to pass in the next two or three decades, making her ascension to power anytime soon even more unlikely. Itโll be interesting to watch her political career and place in the regime, as most female members of the Kim family typically hold more reserved lives and are kept from the publicโs full eye.