Kim Jong Un arrives in China with daughter Kim Ju Ae for first major multilateral event: All you need to know about North Korean leader’s likely successor

Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday (September 2, 2025) to attend a military parade with his Chinese and Russian counterparts. Kim, who is attending his first major multilateral event during his 14-year rule, arrived at the meeting venue by train and was accompanied by his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, on his trip to Beijing, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korea's intelligence agency.

The totalitarian leader has taken her to other major military and public events in the past. Notably, this is also the first time Kim, Xi, and Putin have gathered at the same venue. The event, according to observers, could potentially demonstrate three-way unity against the United States. However, none of the three countries has confirmed a private trilateral leaders' meeting, according to the news agency AP.

Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the 26 world leaders who will join China's President Xi Jinping at Wednesday’s massive military parade in Beijing that commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s fight against Japan's wartime aggressions. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim was greeted at Beijing railway station by senior Chinese officials. He was cited as saying he was pleased to visit China.

Who is Kim Ju Ae? All you need to know

According to KCNA photos, Kim’s delegation at the Beijing station includes his young daughter Kim Ju Ae, who South Korean intelligence officials view as his likely heir. Since 2022, she has frequently accompanied her father on a slew of major events, including missile tests, with state media calling her Kim’s “most beloved” or “respected” child.

Earlier, KCNA had said that senior officials, including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, were traveling with Kim but didn't mention the girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and aged about 13. Besides missile tests, Kim Ju Ae has accompanied her father to military parades. She is his "most likely" successor, the South's spy agency said in January 2024, according to the BBC.

It was at the beginning of 2024 when the National Intelligence Service (NIS) first acknowledged Kim Ju Ae as Kim's heir. However, the NIS had also said that it was considering "all possibilities" in Pyongyang's succession plan. Kim’s daughter has kept a high profile since first appearing in public in late 2022, the BBC reported. She is reportedly the second-oldest child of the North Korean leader and was initially believed to be about 10 years of age in 2024.

"Based on a comprehensive analysis of public activities and the level of respect for Kim Ju Ae since her initial public appearance, at present, she appears to be the most likely successor," the NIS said, as quoted by BBC. Kim Ju Ae had also accompanied Kim to the December launch of North Korea's Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). She accompanied her father during the launch of the Malligyong-1 spy satellite into orbit in November 2023.

The first time Kim Ju Ae grabbed the media’s attention was in 2013, after retired American basketball star Dennis Rodman visited North Korea, BBC reported. Rodman had said that during his visit, he had spent time with the North Korean leader's family, relaxing by the sea, and had "held their baby." Kim has mostly been extremely secretive about his family, and even his wife, Ri Sol Ju, was kept a secret until some time after the pair married.