When North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un made public inspections of his country's nuclear program late last year, a young girl by his side drew attention.
The girl, understood to be his daughter, appeared again last week - at a banquet and subsequent parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Korean People's Army (KPA), as the country displayed more intercontinental ballistic missiles than ever before.
Little is known about the Kim family, but with each appearance of the girl, there is growing speculation about his potential successor.
Experts say while there are several scenarios for who could become the country's next leader, the public opportunities were orchestrated and a symbol of the continuity of Mr Kim's dynasty and its nuclear program.
The young girl in North Korea late last year.
A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows Kim Jong-Un accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju-ae, during the test firing of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile in Pyongyang, North Korea. Source: AAP / KCNA/EPA
According to a South Korean news agency, South Korean intelligence officials believe she is Kim Ju-ae, identified as Mr Kim's daughter by former US basketball player Dennis Rodman, who spent time with the family in 2013.
At the time, Rodman told the Guardian Mr Kim was a "good dad" to his baby daughter, whom he named Ju-ae.
North Korean state media subsequently released an undated photo of the young girl and Mr Kim posing with soldiers and contributors to the Hwasongpho-17 missile.
An undated photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 27 November 2022 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walking with his daughter, presumed to be his second child, Ju-ae. Source: AAP / KCNA/EPA
She is then pictured at a military parade, with images released by state media showing as many as 11 Hwasong-17s. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event.
"I think it's a big game which Kim Jong-un started, and we shouldn't be fooled by rosy pictures of the future North Korea represented by the young daughter, Kim Ju-ae," Professor Leonid Petrov, International College of Management Sydney dean and a visiting fellow at the Australian National University, told SBS Dateline before the most recent appearances.
What do we know about Mr Kim's 'respected' daughter?
The young girl is believed to be one of Mr Kim's three children - a son and two daughters - although this is not confirmed.
State media did not name the girl in a press release about the military parade, only describing her as Mr Kim's "respected daughter".
Analysts have noted this is an 'upgrade' from earlier descriptions of her as Mr Kim's "beloved daughter." The term respected is usually only used for Mr Kim.
"North Korean state media doesn't do random or improvised contribution. Obviously it was orchestrated by the regime," Professor Petrov said.
The Kim regime has been in power for the seven decades since the Soviet Army installed Kim ll-sung, Kim Jong-un's grandfather, as North Korea's ruler in 1945.
He ruled until his death in 1994. Mr Kim's father, Kim Jong-il, was leader from 1994 until his death in 2011, after which state television announced Mr Kim as the "great successor".
Speculation surrounding Mr Kim's successor has heightened amid , following his absence from a key anniversary, and another rumoured disappearance in the last month.
However the leader, believed to be 39-years-old, was pictured at the February banquet.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, leader Kim Jong-un, his wife Ri Sol-ju and his daughter Ju-ae pose with military top officials for a photo at a feast to mark the 75th anniversary of the Korean People’s Army at an unspecified place in North Korea on 7 February 2023. Source: AAP / Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP
He said the surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II in 1945 following left a strong mark on Mr Kim's grandfather and his son that "nuclear weapons are the key to winning any war".
"That's why North Korea started developing its nuclear program back in the late 1980s and early 1990s," he said, adding this coincided with the collapse of the Soviet Union and major economic reforms in China.
"The necessity to develop nuclear weapons and maintain the dynasty were given equal emphasis by the ruling groups."
A photo distributed by the North Korean government of Kim Jong-un with his daughter Ju-ae at a feast on 7 February 2023 to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army. Source: AP / KCNA via KNS
Professor Petrov said the program is a "token of the regime's survival", which hinges on the continuity of the Kim dynasty.
"Everyone who is associated with the regime and their groups and the thousands of families - from the Workers' Party of Korea, bureaucrats, military, state security and secret police - also understand that their well-being hinges on the survival of Kim personally and his family around him."
A 'benevolent father' and an enduring dynasty
Against this backdrop, Professor Petrov said the recent public appearances of Kim Jun-ae are full of meaning.
"The whole opportunity for Kim and his daughter was to send a message, domestically and internationally, that the nuclear program - which depends on the success of the ballistic missile programs - is going to continue as much as Kim’s dynasty is continuing," he said.
Promoting this alongside his daughter projects Mr Kim as the "benevolent father," he added.
"The North Korean media love the opportunity to praise the leader and depict [him] as a family man and that benevolent father, who is caring not only about his own family, but the future generation of North Korean boys and girls who are learning maths and physics and ballistics, to protect their motherland."
He noted the daughter was on one occasion dressed in colours - white, red and black - which matched the missile she stood in front of.
An undated photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 27 November 2022 shows Kim Jong-un with his daughter Ju-ae during a photo session with the contributors to the successful test-fire of new-type ICBM Hwasongpho-17. Source: AAP / KCNA/EPA
Mr Kim has elevated several powerful women around him, including his sister, Yo Jong, and Choe Son Hui, the country’s first woman foreign minister.
"They [North Korea's leaders] think the use of the female - especially a young female - image works well ... for the global audience to understand North Korea as a ‘normal’ nation," she told SBS Dateline prior to the February appearances.
Could Kim Jong-un's daughter be North Korea's next leader?
Professor Petrov said it is clear Mr Kim is now preparing for succession, and the question of who will become next leader is important for the regime's survival. At the core of this is "continuity".
"It doesn't matter who succeeds Kim. As long as it's the Kim bloodline, they are going to be treasured and protected as a token of the whole system's survival," he said.
Who that might be depends on several scenarios which may develop, Professor Petrov said.
"Obviously [Mr Kim] wants to project some sort of power and control about the future, what about may happen after him. Probably a young daughter is not the best message for the future of the regime's survival," he said.
But he acknowledged there might be "hope for positive change" among North Korea's elites and its people "for a brighter future than they or their parents had".
I think it's a big game which Kim Jong-un started, and we shouldn't be fooled by rosy pictures of the future North Korea represented by the young daughter, Kim Ju-ae.Professor Leonid Petrov
"Maybe it's a misleading trick. Maybe Kim Jong-un ... will do exactly what his father did and bring forward suddenly an obscure figure, maybe his son, to the foreground and anoint him as the future," he said.
"Nobody would dare to object to that, regardless of how appealing the daughter or young sister might look."
Another picture provided by the North Korean government showing Kim Jong-un with his wife Ri Sol Ju, right, and his daughter Ju-ae at the banquet on 7 February 2023. Source: AP / KCNA via KNS
A patriarchal society
Professor Eun Ah agreed that while Mr Kim is preparing for succession, it is too early to draw conclusions. However, she does not believe Ju-ae would be next in line, in part due to North Korea's patriarchal society.
"North Korea is a patriarchal system so they are not allowing dramatic changes in the ruling system," Professor Eun Ah said.
She said women in North Korea are given "limited" roles.
"People try to see changes in society, but at an official level, it is hard to adapt those changes to the system," she said.
"I don't think they are going to give the daughter a future leading position. Like [Mr Kim's sister], she will learn how to play an important role, in a political sense, but not as leader."
Professor Petrov agreed the chances of a female leader are slim, with misogyny "embedded in North Korean life, from top to bottom".
"Daughters are usually sidelined or not given top jobs or top priority," he said.
"I think that traditionalism would not permit the regime to rely on a female member of the Kim’s clan, just outside of its own traditional, misogynistic approach."
Russia is 'much more serious'
Professor Petrov said more focus should be on what is happening in Russia under President Vladimir Putin, which is "much more serious".
"Mr Putin is clearly learning from Kim Jong-un. He understands that nuclear weapons makes him invincible and supposedly out of reach for any retaliation," he said.
"It would not really change or would have minimal impact on the world who will succeed Kim Jong-un compared to what might happen after Putin."
With additional reporting by Reuters
