Kim Jong Un puts girl believed to be daughter front and center at lavish military banquet

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought a child believed to be his daughter to a lavish banquet at a military barracks on Tuesday,

the latest sign the girl is possibly being groomed as his eventual successor in an authoritarian family regime dating back decades.

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The girl – believed to be Kim’s second child, Ju Ae, who is around 9 years old – and her father were joined by his wife, Ri Sol Ju, in the visit to the barracks and subsequent banquet to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army (KPA), state media reported Wednesday.

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A Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report described seeing Kim and “his respected” daughter as a dream come true for the military officials at the banquet.

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Pictures published by the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed the girl walking next to Kim and her mother as they entered the venue for the banquet while military officers applauded.

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At the banquet, the girl was seated in the center of the lead table between Kim and her mother.

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In a country where the Kim family and the military are all powerful, the presence of the girl at such an important event sends clear signals, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

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