North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Ju Ae wore matching leather jackets at a military parade, intensifying speculation she is being groomed as his successor

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his teenage daughter Ju Ae wore matching leather jackets at a major military parade.

State media photos published on Thursday showed the pair standing side-by-side to watch a vast military procession during the closing stages of the ruling Workers’ Party congress.

Kim’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, also appeared alongside them in similar attire. The images have intensified longstanding speculation that Ju Ae is being groomed as the heir to the Kim family dynasty, which has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades.

Analyst Lim Eul-chul said the jackets are a staple of leader Kim’s wardrobe during key public appearances.

“In North Korea’s political symbolism, that look carries weight — it’s tied to the image of the leader as the ultimate guarantor of national security and future prosperity,” he said.

“So when that same symbolic attire is put on his young daughter, it’s hard to see it as accidental.”

Other photos showed Ju Ae striding on a red carpet next to her father as he received salutes from the country’s military top brass.

South Korea’s national intelligence service said earlier this month that Ju Ae has been clearly “designated as a successor”.

Korean affairs expert Leif-Eric Easley said her latest appearance demonstrated her elevated status.

“But she still appears in her capacity as the leader’s daughter,” Easley noted. “She is probably not yet old enough to participate in the congress with an official party title.”

Ju Ae was publicly introduced in 2022 when she accompanied her father to an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

Before then, the only confirmation of her existence had come from former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who visited the North in 2013.

Pyongyang has never confirmed Ju Ae’s exact age, but analysts believe she is in her early teens.

She has drawn attention for her taste in luxury fashion, appearing in Gucci sunglasses and wearing a Cartier watch.

At other times, she has mirrored her father’s distinctive style by wearing matching leather jackets and dark glasses.

A cult of personality surrounding the Kim family’s “Paektu bloodline” dominates daily life in the isolated country.

 The Sun Malaysia