North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a mysterious man.
Because North Korea operates under a hereditary dictatorship, not much is known about the private life of the state leader, and any information that is shared is heavily controlled by state-run media.
So, when Kim appeared at a missile launch last Friday, hand-in-hand with his daughter, the world was shocked.
It’s the first time Kim’s daughter has been acknowledged by the country’s media, let alone shared video of her, and the first time any of Kim’s reported children have appeared in public.
A TV screen shows North Korea’s KCNA released pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter during a news program at the Yongsan Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea.
KIM Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
In fact, the country’s media has never reported on Kim’s children, but South Korean media has speculated that Kim has three children, who are believed to have been born in 2010, 2013 and 2017.
North Korea’s state media said Saturday that Kim had observed the launch of its new type of intercontinental ballistic missile with his wife Ri Sol-ju, their “beloved daughter” and other officials the previous day.
It isn’t known, specifically, which child Kim took to the launch site. The BBC reports that the girl’s name is believed to be Kim Chu-ae. North Korean media did not name the girl, who appeared at the missile test in a white coat, black pants and a long ponytail.
