The parade, marking 80 years since the end of World War II, is Kim’s first multilateral diplomatic event held overseas.
So the decision to take his teenage daughter with him to such a major diplomatic event should be taken seriously by the rest of the world, said Cheong Seong-Chang, vice president of the Sejong Institute, a think tank in Seoul.
The North Korean leader was sending “a strong signal to the international community that Kim Ju Ae will become his successor,” Cheong said. He also saw the trip as a rare chance for the teenager to hone her diplomatic skills, pointing to her standing directly behind her father as he was received by Chinese officials.
Kim himself is understood to have been designated as successor at the age of 8 by his father, Kim Jong II, but failed to receive such opportunities, Cheong said. There is no evidence Kim ever accompanied his father on overseas trips.
He “may have decided to introduce her early onto the diplomatic stage,” Cheong added, in order to not “pass down such an unfortunate experience to Kim Ju Ae.”
Other analysts agreed that the trip to China could offer invaluable experience in the protocol associated with life on the global stage.
Taking his daughter “suggests that Kim Jong Un had the intention to expose Kim Ju Ae to the international stage to cultivate her diplomatic senses,” said Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at South Korea’s Kyungnam University.
The North Korean leader may also have been seeking the approval of his closest allies, since the Kim family’s succession has traditionally been carried out not just through “internal stability, but also through external recognition,” Lim said.
And there are potential challenges for the regime, which has been pushing to expand its nuclear arsenal in the face of international sanctions that have crippled its economy.
In growing closer to Putin and supplying troops to fight against Ukraine, Kim has irked his traditional backer, China. Kim may have brought his daughter along to help mend that crucial relationship.
“With Kim Ju Ae by his side, Kim Jong Un may be using her presence as a strategy to suggest a ‘family-level intimacy’ to ease China’s dissatisfaction,” Lim said.
Since its foundation in 1948, North Korea has never had a female leader and so questions persist about whether Kim Ju Ae will ultimately rise to the top of the male-dominated dynasty.
Her presence in China was thus “a thoroughly calculated move,” Lim said. “This should be evaluated not as a simple family visit, but in fact as a “successor debut.””