▲ This image, captured from footage of North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television on Aug. 29, 2023, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) and his daughter, believed to be named Ju-ae, visiting the country's naval command two days earlier to celebrate Navy Day, which fell on Aug. 28. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
▲ This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 29, 2023, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) shaking hands with Navy officials during his visit to the naval command with his daughter, believed to be named Ju-ae (L), two days earlier. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
▲ This file photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 19, 2023, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) and his daughter, believed to be named Ju-ae, visiting the country's state space development agency the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) NK leader-daughter

(LEAD) N. Korea's Kim likely flaunting daughter at military events to elicit loyalty: Seoul

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout)

By Kim Soo-yeon

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has mainly brought his daughter, believed to be named Ju-ae, to military-related events in an apparent bid to highlight his feats in the military sector and elicit the loyalty of the armed services, South Korea's unification ministry said Tuesday.

Kim's daughter has made public appearances on 15 occasions since she made her first one in November 2022, and 12 cases of the total, or 80 percent, were at military-related events, the ministry said, based on reports by the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper.

In contrast, she attended events related to the economy and social affairs three times, it added.

Ju-ae, believed to be around 10 years old, made her first public appearance on Nov. 18, when she, along with her father, attended the firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile.

Since then, her public appearances have been focused on the military field, including a military parade in February and an inspection in May of a facility to prepare the launch of the country's first spy satellite.

North Korean state media have carried a total of 107 photos featuring her. Of them, seven photos were placed on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun, and 80 photos, or 75 percent, showed her right next to Kim Jong-un.

Despite an increase in her appearances in state media, many North Korean observers see the possibility of Ju-ae becoming a hereditary successor as low, given the North's patriarchal society and the rumored existence of an eldest son among Kim's children.

South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers Monday that it is "hasty" to judge that Ju-ae has been anointed as the successor, as North Korea, a male-dominant society, is "obsessed" with the Paektu bloodline of Kim's royal family.

"(Ju-ae's public appearances) seem to indicate that whoever will become the successor, the Paektu line will go on, and people are required to continue to show their loyalty," a unification ministry official told reporters.

On her Aug. 27 visit to the naval command, the official said she appears to have behaved in accordance with protocol as she showed a relatively formal attitude, not a childlike one as in the past.

At the naval command, she walked slightly behind her father on a red carpet, likely displaying the quasi-scene of inspecting a guard of honor, and was seen reading what looked like the script of her father's speech on an elevated podium.

"The North may be in the process of making protocol norms for her," the official said.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong-un has delivered speeches 98 times since he assumed power in late 2011, and state media has carried out 32 reports of his addresses delivered via his voice, the ministry said.

He addressed the nation the most during the country's fight against COVID-19, delivering five and six speeches in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

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