Her Name is Kim Ju-ae. Or so we think. She is believed to have been nine or ten years old at the time of her official unveiling to the North Korean population and the outside world in November 2022, but we do not know for sure. Likewise, we are unsure whether she has an older brother and a younger one, only an older brother, or no siblings at all (even if the last option seems unlikely, for North Korean rulers have always had several children each). But such is the secrecy of the Kim family, we do not know basic facts about Kim Jong-un's daughter. For Kim Ju-ae is none other than the fourth generation of the Kim family that the North Korean media has presented to the outside world. Kim Ju-ae's grandfather, Kim Jong-il, was unveiled as the heir to his own father decades because he took power. Kim Jong-un only had the luxury of two years of having his own public agenda for North Koreans to get used to. For many years it seemed that one of his brothers would be his father's heir (see Chapter 2). It seems that Kim Jong-un is following the template of his grandfather, North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, and will spend decades grooming his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, to one day take his place. Or perhaps Kim Ju-ae will not make it to the top after all, as one of the brothers we think she has could well become her father's favourite or the Kim dynasty may collapse. In any case, Kim Jong-un is already laying the groundwork for the Kim family to continue its rule of North Korea for decades to come.

The nature of Kim Ju-ae's unveiling as heir was hardly normal. By showing pictures of her attending an ICBM test together with her father, a clear message was being communicated. The Kim family has skilfully maintained power for 75 years and while there are many reasons why this has been the case, an important one has been the way in which North Korea has prioritized nuclear weapons and missiles over the well-being of its own population.