KJU Visits Ku’msusan with his family
Kim Jong Un (KJU; Kim Cho’ng-u’n), joined by his wife Ri Sol Ju (Ri So’l-chu) and daughter Kim Ju Ae (Kim Chu-a’e), visited Ku’msusan Palace of the Sun (KPS) on 1 January 2026 (Thursday) to mark the new year. This was Ju Ae’s first observed appearance at KPS, where the preserved remains of her grandfather, late DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, and great-grandfather, DPRK founder and late president Kim Il Sung (Kim Il-so’ng) lie in state.
Joining the family were a variety of senior officials of the party, state and army. After the delivery of floral baskets, KJU “paid New Year greetings to the great leaders.”
The visitors pledged to “fulfill their responsibility and duty in the vanguard of accomplishing the sacred cause for the eternal prosperity and development of the great DPRK and the promotion of the people’s wellbeing, true to the ideas and leadership of Kim Jong Un with single-minded loyalty.”
In the photo released by KCNA, Ju Ae appears to be standing in the center between her parents. This is an extraordinary state media photo positioning in that KJU is not in the center. Also notable is that KJU’s necktie is the same color as Kim Ju Ae’s suit and Kim Yo Jong’s ensemble at a banquet held the night before.
