Kim Jong-un’s relationship with daughter under scrutiny after New Year’s cheek kiss

Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, kisses her father on the cheek after the New Year’s countdown ends during the 2026 New Year’s celebration performance at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on Jan. 1. [KOREAN CENTRAL TELEVISION]

 
A Japan-based media outlet called a moment in which Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, kissed her father on the cheek at a New Year’s performance in Pyongyang “unusual.” 
 
Daily NK Japan, a Tokyo-based outlet focused on North Korean affairs, published on Monday an online article, the title of which translates to “Is this a normal father-daughter relationship? The strange behavior of Kim Jong-un and his daughter that is stirring controversy.” The report cited footage of a New Year’s celebration broadcast by Korean Central Television last Thursday.
 
 
The outlet said the pair “engaged in what could be described as excessive physical contact throughout the event,” adding that “nearby officials were occasionally seen averting their gaze or appearing visibly uncomfortable.”
 
At the event, Kim Ju-ae sat between Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and watched the performance while holding her father’s hand and whispering to him, openly displaying their closeness.
 
In particular, as the countdown to 2026 began midway through the event, Kim Ju-ae stood up, placed one hand on Kim Jong-un’s face and kissed him on the cheek. He responded with a broad smile.
 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un whispers to his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, while attending the 2026 New Year’s celebration performance at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on Jan. 1. [KOREAN CENTRAL TELEVISION]

 
“This is not the first time that Kim Jong-un and his daughter have drawn attention for their unusual behavior,” the outlet said, citing a report by the South Korean independent media outlet Sand Times.
 
The outlet noted that at a hotel completion ceremony in December last year, the two were seen standing unusually close “like a couple,” allegedly prompting reactions within North Korea that described the scene as “disgusting” and “beyond a normal father-daughter relationship.”
 
Daily NK Japan concluded that “the strange behavior that Kim Jong-un and Ju-ae openly display appears to go beyond a rational attempt to stage a succession narrative, instead reflecting distortions and anxieties inherent in the North Korean system itself, seemingly without self-awareness.”
 

Kim Ju-ae kisses her father North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the cheek as the new year begins in footage from a New Year’s celebration broadcast by Korean Central Television on Jan. 1. [KOREAN CENTRAL TELEVISION]

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]