Kim Jong-un and Ri Sol-ju maintained close protocol with Xi and his wife throughout the overnight visit; Kim Ju-ae skipped all official events, with analysts suggesting China may have been uncomfortable endorsing a fourth-generation succession

Chinese President Xi Jinping (front left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (front right) watch a military parade during a welcome ceremony at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang on Sunday. [Reuters]
Chinese President Xi Jinping (front left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (front right) watch a military parade during a welcome ceremony at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang on Sunday. [Reuters]

By Seo Ji-yeon, The Herald Business

Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was absent from every official event during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Pyongyang — his first in seven years — dashing expectations that the trip might yield a public signal about the North's succession plans.

Footage and photographs released Sunday and Monday by North Korea's Korean Central Television, China Central Television and the state-run Xinhua News Agency showed no sign of Kim Ju-ae at any point during the one-night, two-day visit.

Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, accompanied Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, through nearly the entire schedule.

The two couples appeared together at the welcome ceremony at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, the reception at Kim Il-sung Square, a commemorative banquet, a performance, a visit to the China-North Korea Friendship Tower, a luncheon and a farewell ceremony.

The display of close protocol mirrored Xi's first state visit to Pyongyang in 2019 and was widely read as North Korea extending its highest level of hospitality to the Chinese leader while showcasing the two countries' strategic alignment.

Attention had centered on whether Kim Ju-ae would appear.

She first came to public attention at the test launch of the Hwaseong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile in 2022 and has since accompanied Kim Jong-un on dozens of military inspections, state events and weapons exhibitions, steadily raising her profile.

Her presence alongside Kim Jong-un during his China visit last year had revived speculation that she had been designated his successor — recalling the precedent set by both Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un himself, each of whom traveled to China after being identified as heir apparent.

Analysts had suggested that if Kim Ju-ae appeared publicly alongside Xi during this visit, the moment could serve as a symbolic affirmation of her status as successor.

No such scene materialized.

Some observers interpreted her absence as a sign that Pyongyang considers it too early to formally present her as heir. Even during last year's China trip, Kim Ju-ae was seen only at Pyongyang Station at departure and upon arrival in Beijing — she did not attend any major diplomatic events during the stay.

China's own sensitivities may also have been a factor.

A public meeting between Xi and Kim Ju-ae could have been read as Beijing in effect endorsing North Korea's fourth-generation dynastic succession — a step China has traditionally been reluctant to take openly, even as it has long backed the North Korean system.

North Korea, too, had framed the summit around strengthening strategic cooperation and expanding economic and diplomatic ties with China, suggesting Pyongyang may have chosen to keep the succession question off the agenda. With Kim Ju-ae's absence, analysts said, the visit concluded as an event focused on restoring and deepening bilateral relations rather than on the question of who will next lead the North.


sjy@heraldcorp.com