North Korea leader Kim Jong Un's daughter makes public visit to state mausoleum

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter and potential successor, Ju Ae, accompanied her parents on her first public visit to the Kumsusan mausoleum to pay respects to former leaders, state media reported Friday.

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Ju Ae, who is most likely being prepared as his successor, accompanied her parents on her first public visit to the Kumsusan mausoleum to pay respects to former leaders, state media photos published on Friday showed.

Ju Ae has been making increasingly prominent appearances in state media in the past three years, fueling speculation by analysts and South Korea’s intelligence agency that she may be in line to be the country’s fourth-generation leader.

Cheong Seong-chang, vice president at the Sejong Institute think tank, viewed Ju Ae’s first presence at the Kumsusan palace as her father’s calculated move ahead of the upcoming ruling party Congress at which her succession might be formalized.

Kim was also accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and senior officials on the visit on Jan. 1, with Ju Ae between her parents in the main hall of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, photographs published by state news agency KCNA showed.

Hong Min, an expert on North Korea at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification, said North Korea had been portraying an image of Kim‘s “stable family” by showing the wife and the daughter along with Kim at major events.