Kim Jong-un introduced his daughter to the world in November 2022 with a show of affection and menace, holding her hand in front of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Since then, state media has shown Kim Ju-ae more and more prominently next to her father, the leader of North Korea. Now she is being hailed as a “great person of guidance” — a sign, experts say, that she is perhaps being groomed to take the reins of the isolated, nuclear-armed regime one day.

She holds no known official title in North Korea. The outside world has never heard her voice. The North’s state media has not even named her, referring to her only as the “most beloved,” “respected” or “dear” daughter of its leader.

But intelligence officials and analysts consider her to be her father’s most likely successor. She is believed to be just 12. We studied Ju-ae’s public appearances since her debut three years ago to trace her transformation from a shy girl by her father’s side to a poised public figure who shares center stage with him.

A new face

She is showing up in domestic photo ops and some diplomatic receptions with her father. But most telling may be her presence in military settings — the first area where Kim consolidated his power after his father died.

Senior military officers have made demonstrations of loyalty to Ju-ae, analysts said. At one military parade in 2023, a top general was seen kneeling before her, a gesture of deference that had once been reserved for her father: