North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took his daughter to a football game celebrating his late father’s birthday.

State media said the presence of Mr Kim and his “beloved” daughter Kim Ju Ae, who is believed to be around 10, brought “joy and excitement” to the match.

It is the sixth in a series of public appearances that has aroused speculation over whether she is being primed for a leadership role or successor to her father.

Her last came on 9 February, a parade to celebrate the 75th anniversary of North Korea’s army, where her father unveiled a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that he could test in the coming months.

She also appears alongside her father in several new postal stamps released to mark an ICBM test last November, which the country said was a success.

The football match was described by official Korean Central News Agency as a “significant sports and cultural event”, with photos published by North Korea‘s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showing Mr Kim and his daughter smiling and clapping from the VIP seats.

Kim Yo Jong, Mr Kim’s sister and one of his top foreign policy officials, was seen sitting in a row behind, watching the match between staff members from the cabinet and the defence ministry.

Typically, Kim Ju Ae joins her father at events overtly related to his nuclear ambitions.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

In her first ever appearance on state media, she was brought to observe a flight test of an ICBM.

Analysts say this is her father’s way of reminding the world he will never voluntarily surrender his arsenal, which he clearly sees as the strongest guarantee of his survival and the extension of his family’s dynastic rule.

Read more:
Meet Kim Jong Un’s ‘precious’ child
Kim Jong Un shows off nuclear arsenal at military parade

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

However, North Korea has a historically male-dominated hierarchy – ad Mr Kim is believed to be just 39.

He is thought to have as many as three children with his wife Ri Sol Ju – two girls and a boy.

Related posts:

Russian trials show Sputnik V vaccine performs well against COVID variants Migrants resorting to treacherous night hikes through Alps to escape to new lives Wildfires and deaths across southeast Europe amid most severe heatwave in decades Tourists evacuated by boat from holiday resort as Turkey wildfires burn TV host convicted of glorifying rape after letting rapist recreate attacks using mannequin Super trawler spills 100,000 dead fish off French coast Two more hospitals hit by Russian airstrikes in Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr Dozens of bodies wrapped in bags or carpet buried in Mariupol mass grave as Russian shelling continues Shelling of besieged cities continues as Russian armoured column ambushed. What happened on day 15 Ukraine put forward for EU membership Russian pipeline resumes pumping gas to Europe after 10-day shutdown Mother whose daughter’s burns inspired idea among Prince William’s Earthshot Prize finalists