Kim's Teen Daughter Makes a Notable Visit

The teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stepped up her public appearances to mark New Year's Day, but it was her first known visit to a sacred family mausoleum that experts say truly bolstered her status as her father's potential heir, per the AP. The visit on Thursday even sparked speculation that the girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and aged about 13, could be named a high-level official at the upcoming ruling Workers' Party congress. Images carried by North Korea's state media on Friday showed Kim Ju Ae standing in the front row with her parents and deeply bowing at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, where the embalmed bodies of her late grandfather and great-grandfather are on display.

The palace is "a place that symbolizes legitimacy of the North Korean regime," and her visit there ahead of the Workers' Party congress is a politically orchestrated move, said Cheong Seong-Chang, deputy head of the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. Kim Jong Un, 41, is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea since the country's foundation in 1948. He often marks key state anniversaries by visiting the Kumsusan palace and paying respect to his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.

Cheong predicted that Kim Jong Un could give his daughter the first secretary post at the Workers' Party, the party's No. 2 job, at the congress. Other experts say she is too young to accept such a high-profile post and might be provided with lower-level jobs. In the bigger picture, South Korea's spy agency has said it views Kim Ju Ae as her father's likely heir. North Korea has not announced when it will hold its congress, but it will likely be held either in January or February.