Kim's nuclear family fallout: With North Korea's obese tyrant on the verge of 'collapse', his glamorous 10-year-old heir faces off against her power-hungry 'psychopath' aunt... but, whose finger will be on the trigger?

Most preteens would seldom deign to beryllium spotted successful nationalist pinch their parents.

Not North Korea's Kim Ju Ae.

After all, she's nan girl of a 'living god' - and, if South Korean spies are correct, nan heir-apparent to nan nuclear-armed hermit kingdom.

Over nan past 2 years, Ju Ae has been seen accompanying her dad, dictator Kim Jong Un, connected unconventional days out; strolling hand-in-hand past long-range missiles, smiling and waving astatine paramilitary parades and happily watching rocket launches successful matching father-daughter leather jackets and Bond-villain shades.

The brace has been pictured together much than 2 twelve times. 

But still, Ju Ae remains a profoundly mysterious figure.

The tyrannical Kim family is truthful secretive that nary 1 knows if Ju Ae is moreover her existent name, aliases precisely really aged she is, pinch estimates ranging from 10 to 12-years-old.

And contempt her youth, she whitethorn find herself thrust into a position of powerfulness and peril overmuch sooner than she whitethorn expect.

North Korea experts opportunity her 'extremely obese' 40-year-old begetter whitethorn keel complete astatine immoderate infinitesimal – leaving her astatine nan helm of this bizarre 26 million-strong federation and, perhaps, mounting disconnected a fierce succession conflict pinch her notoriously ruthless, 'psychopath' aunt.

The world only discovered Ju Ae existed successful early 2013 aft 90s NBA badboy, ex-Chicago Bulls subordinate Dennis Rodman was invited to a North Korean formation retreat.

The media company, Vice, sponsored Rodman's jaunt to nan authoritarian authorities to return successful an accumulation hoops crippled – and he was received by Jong Un, who has been a instrumentality of nan Chicago Bulls ever since he was introduced to nan athletics arsenic a teen by his authoritarian father's Japanese sushi chef.

When Rodman returned from his travel afloat of bonhomie for nan dictator, he raved that Jong Un was a 'great guy' and his 'friend for life,' and revealed nan beingness of Ju Ae.

'The Marshal Kim and I had a relaxing clip by nan oversea pinch his family,' Rodman told Western media, adding 'I held their babe Ju Ae... He's a bully dada and has a beautiful family.'

It was nan first clip nan world had heard of immoderate of Jong Un's children. He is now thought to person three: an older boy, Ju Ae and a younger kid of an chartless gender.

After Rodman's disclosure, Ju Ae was not seen successful nationalist for different 9 years, until her expansive unveiling successful November 2022.

She was pictured for nan first-time wearing a achromatic puffy overgarment and stepping arm-in-arm pinch her begetter past an intercontinental ballistic rocket theoretically tin of delivering a atomic warhead to nan US mainland.

Since then, Ju Ae has popped up astatine complete a twelve events, ever flanking her dad, successful glamorous outfits, pinch agelong fur-lined leather coats and matching gloves.

On New Year's Eve 2024, she was filmed tenderly clasping Jong Un's look pinch some hands, kissing him connected nan feature and whispering successful his receptor to make him laugh.

In North Korean authorities media, she is referred to arsenic his 'precious' aliases 'respected' girl - a clear motion of her favour - and this week, South Korean intelligence services revealed successful a closed-door briefing of nan country's lawmakers that she has apt been selected arsenic his heir.

Her position comes pinch utmost benefits successful a totalitarian state wherever almost half of nan organization is undernourished and an estimated six cardinal are held arsenic slaves successful situation camps.

'The children of nan awesome leader, arguably unrecorded nan astir spoiled manner connected Earth,' North Korea master Sung-Yoon Lee told DailyMail.com. 'There are princes and princesses successful different countries, but this peculiar family is very different, they are almost god-like.'

'We don't cognize precisely really galore palatial mansions they have, but astatine slightest 20,' Lee said. 'They person immense sprawling estates pinch equine racing tracks, Olympic-size swimming pools, spas and cinemas,' said Lee, writer of nan book The Sister astir nan astir powerful female successful North Korea, Jung Un's sister Kim Yo Jong.

As acold arsenic schooling goes, Ju Ae will beryllium waited connected manus and foot, Lee claimed: 'Kim Jong Un's girl is pampered, spoiled and has plentifulness of servile teachers each bowing down to her.'

Jong Un and his siblings were sent to precocious schoolhouse successful Switzerland, but Ju Ae will not be, he said.

Modern technology, for illustration iPhones and societal media, create an untenable consequence for that authorities that personification whitethorn stock a image of Ju Ae and they'd suffer power of her cautiously curated image, Lee explained.

If nan world saw Ju Ae arsenic a young 'brat', it would destruct nan 'mystique and aura of nan ruling family, that they are each geniuses.'

Instead, nan children of high-ranking officials are apt brought into nan palaces to play pinch Ju Ae, provided they 'keep it secret'.

Ju Ae is besides apt shielded from nan harsh realities of her father's norm and 'maintains immoderate innocence,' Lee said, but 'in clip she will turn into nan domiciled of nan successor of her almighty, powerful daddy and will consciousness entitled to that domiciled and nan luxuries she's utilized to.'

As Jong Un's weight balloons - reaching an estimated 310 lbs - experts pass his wellness is declining, creating a caller consciousness of urgency to prime a successor.

'Kim Jong Un is highly obese,' a apical South Korean lawmaker, who sits connected nan legislature's Intelligence Committee, said this week. 'We understand that he has been showing symptoms of precocious humor unit and glucosuria since his early thirties.

'If he does not amended his existent wellness condition, location is simply a beardown anticipation that he whitethorn create cardiovascular disease, of which location is simply a family history.'

Jong Un's father, Kim Jong il, died successful 2011 and it is believed that he suffered a monolithic bosom attack.

Cheong Seong-Chang, an expert astatine nan Sejong Institute successful South Korea, said this week that Jong Un's wellness is truthful mediocre that 'it won't beryllium astonishing moreover if he collapses tomorrow.'

However, Ju Ae's way to powerfulness is by nary intends definite and she whitethorn yet look a fierce conflict pinch her aunt, Yo Jong, 36.

Yo Jong, who often appears gaunt and ray looming down her brother, has agelong been considered nan favourite to switch him.

According to Sung-Yoon Lee, she's been lauded arsenic nan 'brains down nan operation' and is known for her 'ruthless' streak, taking aft her 'psychopath' father.

She has 'the eventual powerfulness of nan sadistic dictator; nan powerfulness to play God and determine who lives and who is killed', Lee writes successful his book, The Sister.

In 2021, Yo Jong reportedly 'ordered respective executions of high-ranking authorities officials for simply 'getting connected her nerves'.'

Those she recovered 'less disagreeable' were banished – on pinch their guiltless families – to detention camps and gulags, 'where a life of grueling forced labor, beatings, torture and starvation rations awaited'.

And parricide is not retired of nan mobility successful nan Kim clan either.

Kim Jong il, begetter of Jung Un and Yo Jong, is suspected of having his half-brother, Kim Jong nam, assassinated by nervus supplier successful Kuala Lumpur airdrome successful 2017

It's not yet clear if Yo Jong would support her niece's norm and Lee told nan Mail that he 'can't norm retired a powerfulness struggle betwixt nan 2 women down nan road.

'[Yo Jong] has been playing nan domiciled of lawman despot for years now, that gives her an advantage.'

Whatever nan early holds, it is assuredly uncertain for some Ju Ae and nan world.

For Lee suspects that location is different logic Jong Un whitethorn beryllium parading his girl around.

It's a show of spot from nan dynasty, he believes: 'Jong Un is projecting to nan West: My nukes are present to stay, to beryllium handed down to my children's generation. We are a dynasty. We person each nan clip successful nan world.'