Ju Ae was spotted only briefly upon arrival during Kim's Beijing trip last year

Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during Xi's visit to Pyongyang on Monday. [Yonhap]
Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during Xi's visit to Pyongyang on Monday. [Yonhap]

Kim Jong-un's daughter Ju Ae was absent from official events on the first day of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pyongyang on Monday.

China Central Television and Xinhua News Agency both reported that Ju Ae did not appear in coverage of the airport welcome ceremony or the reception at Kim Il-sung Square on the first day of Xi's visit.

Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, arrived ahead of Xi at both the airport and Kim Il-sung Square to receive the Chinese president and his delegation. Ju Ae was not seen at either venue. Ri accompanied Xi's wife, Peng Liyuan, throughout the visit's events.

Ju Ae had accompanied Kim on his trip to Beijing last September for China's Victory Day commemorations, fueling speculation that she had been designated as his successor.

Both Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un had visited China alongside their fathers while being groomed as heirs — a kind of formal introduction to Beijing.

Even during that visit, however, Ju Ae was seen only briefly upon arrival and did not appear at major official events during the 54-hour stay in Beijing.

Some analysts cautioned that Ju Ae's trip to China was likely more of a learning experience than a deliberate move to cement her standing as a fourth-generation successor.

Meanwhile, North Korea's most senior party and cabinet figures turned out in force for the welcome events, signaling the strength of Pyongyang-Beijing ties.

The reception at Kim Il-sung Square was attended by Cho Yong-won, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, along with Cabinet Premier Pak Thae-song, Workers' Party secretaries Kim Jae-ryong, Ri Il-hwan and Kim Song-nam, Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, Defense Minister No Kwang-chol, and Kim Su-gil, secretary of the Pyongyang City Party Committee.

The subsequent summit talks were attended on the North Korean side by Premier Pak Thae-song, party secretaries Kim Jae-ryong, Ri Il-hwan and Kim Song-nam, Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, Defense Minister No Kwang-chol, and First Vice Premier Kim Tok-hun.


20ki@heraldcorp.com