Kim Jong-un's daughter Kim Ju-ae attended for the first time a visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are enshrined. As the 9th Party Congress opens with the arrival of the new year 2026, Kim Ju-ae accompanying Kim Jong-un and Ri Sol Ju on their visit is being interpreted as a meaningful political signal related to the succession issue.
The Korean Central News Agency said on the 2nd that the Chairperson paid his respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun the previous day to mark the new year. Present at the event were leading officials of the party and government, responsible officials of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and the Cabinet, and commanders of the Ministry of National Defense.
The agency said, "Participants pledged firm resolve to uphold the thought and leadership of Comrade Kim Jong-un with single-hearted loyalty and to fulfill the responsibilities and duties assumed at the vanguard of the sacred cause for the endless prosperity and development of the great Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the promotion of the people's well-being."
The Korean Central News Agency did not directly mention Kim Ju-ae's attendance, but photos released by North Korean media show Kim Jong-un, Ri Sol Ju and Kim Ju-ae at the very front of the procession paying respects. Kim Ju-ae stood at the exact center among them. The top leader, the Chairperson, effectively yielded the dead-center position to Kim Ju-ae.
The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of President Kim Il Sung and National Defense Commission Chairperson Kim Jong Il are enshrined, is a place symbolizing the legitimacy of the North Korean system. This is the first time that Kim Ju-ae, who has appeared in North Korean media since 2022, has publicly paid respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.
It is also the first time since 2023 that the Chairperson visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to mark the new year. Since taking power in 2012, the Chairperson paid respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on New Year's Day almost every year, but skipped 2018, 2024 and 2025. This year, the practice resumed with his daughter Kim Ju-ae in tow.
Meanwhile, on the 1st, the Chairperson met student children appearing in a Lunar New Year performance and took commemorative photos. North Korea appears to be highlighting the Chairperson's "emphasis on future generations" from the first day of the new year.
The Chairperson emphasized, "The upright, spirited appearance and lively stomping of the successors and reserves, who love the socialist motherland above all and will make it the best, are the pulsating strength of Korea."