North Korea: Could Kim Jong-Un's daughter be the next leader?

There's a new face all over North Korean media and she is just 10 years old.

The daughter of the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea, made her first appearance in November 2022 and has been seen at five public events so far.

A daughter accompanying her father to an event wouldn't normally be unusual, but this is North Korea, one of the most secretive countries in the world - so a lot of people want to know more about her.

Who is the leader of North Korea?

The Supreme Leader of North Korea is Kim Jong-Un. He is the third member of the Kim family to rule North Korea since 1948.

Before he became leader of the country, both his grandfather Kim Il-Sung and his father Kim Jong-Il were in charge of North Korea.

Unlike its neighbour South Korea, North Korea is a dictatorship which means the people don't get to choose the leader of the country.

South Korea, like the UK, is a democracy where people vote on who becomes leader.

In North Korea, children are taught from an early age that the ruler is all-powerful.

There are strict rules on what you can and can't say and people who oppose the people in power are punished.

Why are people so interested in Kim Jong-Un's daughter?

North Korea is a very closed-off country. North Koreans need permission from the government if they want to leave and this is very rarely given. People wanting to travel to North Korea can only do so as part of an organised tour and aren't always able to see what life is like there.

Kim Jong-Un is also famously secretive about his family, so when a young daughter who people hadn't seen before started appearing at public events, there was a lot of interest.

She is believed to be about 10 years old and is called Ju Ae.

North Korea has even unveiled stamps with Kim Jong-Un's daughter on

So far she has attended an important banquet, a tour of a weapons factory and a military parade with her father.

North Korea has even revealed a set of stamps that include her image printed on them.

For this reason, many people have started wondering whether Kim Jong-Un is lining her up to be the next leader of North Korea.

Jean MacKenzie, who is the BBC's correspondent in Seoul, the capital off South Korea, told Newsround people might be jumping to conclusions too fast.

She points out that Kim Jong-Un does have an older son "so, she's not the obvious choice" to be the next leader of the country.

She says Kim Jong-Un could just be trying to look like a good father or get some attention, adding that "It's all a bit confusing and it's definitely too early to know what is going on."

Why does it matter to the rest of the world?

Ju Ae and her father at a weapons factory

So why do people care? Well who could be in charge of North Korea in the future is not just a matter for North Koreans.

It matters to the rest of the world because North Korea is a secretive country that has been hostile towards nations such as the United States and Japan.

The military parade which Ju Ae attended with her father also showed off a huge amount of powerful missiles and bombs.

So it's important other world leaders know as much as they can about whoever is in charge of those weapons.