Kim Jong Un Is Turning His Daughter Into a Dictator Girlboss

It’s every little girl’s dream to follow in her father’s footsteps, but what if your dad’s footsteps trample over the innocent subjects of your kingdom?

By Claire Guinan  |  September 5, 2025 | 11:08am
Photo: Getty Images EntertainmentPolitics
Kim Jong Un Is Turning His Daughter Into a Dictator Girlboss

New girlboss alert! There’s an aspiring dictator on the rise, and she’s barely in high school—or whatever the equivalent of being in high school in North Korea would be.

On Wednesday, when North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, arrived in Beijing, he brought his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, marking her debut on the international stage. And she quickly stole the spotlight away from China’s 80th “Victory Day” parade, commemorating the end of World War II. Is this the official announcement that she’s next in line? It’s every little girl’s dream to follow in her father’s footsteps, but what if your dad’s footsteps trample over the innocent subjects of your kingdom?


“This is the final stage of the gateway for being designated as successor,” Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told NBC News. She “has now completed being exposed internally and externally,” since she’s reportedly been frequently appearing at her dad’s side during North Korean events over the past year.

It’s just all so inspiring to young girls everywhere. And I can only imagine what Ju Ae’s father is teaching her in Dictator 101–cue dream sequence.

Lesson 1: Always put on a big smile, especially at the ballistic missile launch parties.

Kim Ju Ae’s public appearances are rare, but in 2023, Kim Jong Un brought her to a ballistic missile launch (Father-daughter goals!). And she was nothing but smiles as she watched the grand display of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.

Lesson 2: Media Control…Never let them know your real age or name.

Ju Ae is only 12—or maybe she’s 13; no one’s really sure, since North Korea tends to keep a tight lid on such details. This will work in her favor later when—because she’s female—she inevitably faces claims about being either too young or too old to be a dictator. Technically, her name hasn’t even been officially confirmed; the country refers to her as “Beloved Child” (though her name was leaked to the press by Dennis Rodman in 2013). The sheer mystery surrounding Ju Ae practically guarantees she’ll be an enigmatic leader.

Lesson 3: America…Threaten each other back and forth every once in a while, just to keep everyone on their toes.

Kim Jong Un’s relationship with the U.S. has always been… delicate. One day it’s a diplomatic photo-op, the next day Trump is saying something completely out of pocket, like in 2017, when Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury”—and everyone started building their nuclear bunkers. But, like the rest of us, I’m sure Ju Ae has probably learned by now that most of what Trump says is nonsense.

There will be many more authoritarian lessons to come, but Ju Ae already seems to be mastering the theater of diplomacy. Soon, she might be running the show, and maybe even hosting her very own ballistic missile launch parties. I’ll be watching closely, like Succession, except instead of arguing in Escalades, they’re in ornamental train cars.

Whatever happens, it’s an inspiring tale for girls everywhere: women can be dictators too! 🙂 I just hope we see our first female president before our first female Supreme Leader, but no worries if not!

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