North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, was seen operating a forklift while his daughter, Ju Ae, engaged in digging. This appears to be part of Pyongyang’s intensified propaganda efforts to portray the ruling family in a hardworking light, now extending to the leader’s daughter.
On Tuesday, the Workers’ Party’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported that Kim and Ju Ae, accompanied by high-ranking officials, visited the construction site of a memorial honoring troops deployed to Russia.
The newspaper’s front page featured a photograph of Kim and Ju Ae wielding shovels as they dug to plant trees. While Ju Ae has previously been presented as a potential successor, receiving affection from her father and respect from officials, this report notably emphasized her working alongside both her father and other officials.
The imagery repeatedly showed Kim personally operating a forklift, with Ju Ae and officials riding on its blade to transport heavy saplings. This staged scene seems designed to portray the ruling family as down-to-earth and familiar with on-site work processes.
Since Thursday, Kim has made daily appearances on Rodong Sinmun‘s front page. He has been actively cultivating an image as a working leader through various public activities across the military, economic, and civilian sectors. These include observing hypersonic missile launch training (Monday), inspecting key military factories (Sunday), visiting a greenhouse farm construction site in Sinuiju (Saturday), paying respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun (Friday), and attending New Year celebrations (Thursday).
Ju Ae’s public appearances have also increased since late last year. She attended the inauguration of a local industrial plant in Kangdong County on December 15, another in Sinpo City on December 19, and the opening ceremonies of five hotels in the Samjiyon tourist area near Mount Baekdu on December 20 to 21. On December 23, she attended the inauguration of a local factory in Kilju County.
Notably, following her first public appearance in November 2022, Ju Ae visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are preserved. This visit reignited speculation about her potential role as a successor.
In light of her Kumsusan visit and recent portrayals of her working alongside her father, there is cautious speculation that Ju Ae might receive an official party position at the upcoming 9th Party Congress, scheduled to take place between January and February – the first such congress in five years.
Park Young Ja, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, recently suggested at a forum that the succession issue will likely extend to North Korean public opinion. She anticipates a strategy to normalize the idea that Kim Jong Un’s child would be the natural choice for the next supreme leader.
