Overview
- KCNA photos show Ju‑ae stepping off the armored train behind her father at Beijing Railway Station on Sept. 2, greeted by senior Chinese officials.
- South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said it is closely monitoring her activities during the China visit.
- Experts including the Stimson Center’s Michael Madden describe her as the current front runner for succession and see the trip as protocol training and an international introduction.
- Since her 2022 debut at an ICBM launch, state media have elevated her with honorifics while withholding her name, and there has been no formal party designation.
- She was not pictured at Wednesday’s Tiananmen Square parade, which Kim attended as China marked World War II’s end alongside Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.