Kim Jong Un Visits State Mausoleum With Daughter for First Time

Pyongyang, Jan 2, 2026 — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang together with his wife and daughter Ju-ae, marking the first time his daughter has appeared publicly at the country’s most important state mausoleum.
State-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released photographs of the visit, which were carried by Reuters, showing the family paying tribute at the mausoleum that houses the embalmed bodies of North Korea’s former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.
Ju-ae has received increasing attention in North Korean state media over the past three years, prompting analysts and South Korea’s intelligence agency to view her as a possible successor to Kim Jong Un.
Cheong Seong-chang, vice president of the Sejong Institute, said Ju-ae’s first appearance at Kumsusan Palace appears to be a carefully calculated move by Kim ahead of an upcoming congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, where a succession-related signal could potentially emerge.
Hong Min, a spokesperson at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Kim’s repeated public appearances with his wife and daughter at major events suggest an effort to project an image of a stable and unified ruling family.
According to KCNA, Ju-ae—believed to have been born in the early 2010s—took part in New Year celebrations this year and traveled abroad for the first time with her father during a visit to Beijing in September. However, North Korea has not officially confirmed her age.
South Korea’s Ministry of Unification has urged caution over succession speculation, noting that Ju-ae is still very young and holds no official position, making it premature to identify her as Kim Jong Un’s heir.
The latest appearance nonetheless underscores the growing symbolic role Ju-ae is playing in North Korea’s tightly choreographed political landscape.