Overview
- State media photos dated Jan. 1 show Kim Ju Ae positioned between Kim Jong Un and Ri Sol Ju inside the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.
- South Korea’s Unification Ministry said this marks the first publicly known visit to the family mausoleum by Kim with his daughter.
- KCNA has elevated its language for Ju Ae in recent months, a shift analysts track alongside her rising visibility in official imagery.
- Despite growing signals, North Korea has not confirmed any succession plan or Ju Ae’s age, which outside estimates place in the early teens.
- Experts view the mausoleum appearance as calibrated messaging before an early-2026 Workers’ Party congress that could offer clearer indications of her status.