For Xi Jinping's visit, Kim Jong-un's wife returns to center stage with daughter nowhere in sight

When North Korea welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pyongyang on Monday, it was Kim Jong-un's wife, Ri Sol-ju, at his side, not the daughter who has eclipsed her in state media for the past two years.

Kim Ju-ae, whom Pyongyang pushed to the forefront as of late, went unseen in both North Korean and Chinese coverage of the visit.

The arrangement most likely reflected North Korea's effort to stage the trappings of traditional summit diplomacy for Xi's state visit.

Korean Central Television footage aired on Tuesday showed Ri at Kim's side through most of the official program the day before, from greeting Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at Pyongyang International Airport to the welcome ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square, the banquet at the Mokran House and a welcome performance at Pyongyang Gymnasium.

Ri stepped away only for the formal talks. At Kim Il Sung Square, she shook hands with Xi and Peng in turn, after Kim Jong-un, and at the Kumsusan State Guesthouse she walked just behind the two leaders, gesturing as she spoke to Peng.

Ri had dropped off North Korean state media around mid-2023, when Ju-ae began appearing more prominently. The first lady resurfaced on June 24 of last year at the opening of the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area, after about a year and five months out of view, though state media again built its coverage around the leader and his daughter.

At a performance marking International Women's Day on March 8 this year, Ju-ae again sat in the seat to Kim Jong-un's right, holding her father's hand, while Ri sat on the other side of her daughter.

Four days before Xi arrived, on Thursday, the father-daughter duo visited the Kang Kon, a 5,000-ton destroyer, with North Korean media airing footage of her standing ahead of her father.

Ri, who had seemed to be handing the first lady role to her daughter, returned to the fore for Xi's state visit. The choice appears calibrated to match Peng's standing, following the customary protocol for receiving a visiting head of state to project the perception of a normal state.

Kim Ju-ae's mere presence can pull attention away from Xi, which Beijing may have wanted to avoid. A face-to-face meeting between the two could suggest that China recognizes her as heir, and even as it works to deepen ties with Pyongyang, openly backing a fourth-generation dictatorship may have political implications for Beijing.

When Kim Jong-un traveled to China last September for its Victory Day commemorations, he brought his daughter along, drawing global attention and, for some observers, echoing the way his own father, Kim Jong-il, was effectively anointed successor in China before he took power. Even then, Kim Ju-ae appeared only during the entourage's arrival and departure, staying away from the official ceremonies and from her father's meeting with Xi.

Footage released by Korean Central Television also featured Kim Yo-jong, the leader's sister and a member of the Paektu bloodline who now directs the General Affairs Department of the Workers' Party, and Hyon Song-wol, who oversees the leader's protocol. Unlike China's CCTV, which showed Kim Yo-jong at the Mokran House banquet, North Korean media did not spotlight her, an apparent attempt to keep the focus on the two leaders and their wives.

BY LEE YU-JUNG [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]