![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is welcomed by Chinese officials as he arrives at Beijing Station in China on Sept. 2 at around 4 p.m. Behind him is his daughter, Ju-ae. [KCNA]](https://www.koreadailyus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/0902-KimJongun.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter, Ju-ae, arrived in Beijing on September 2 afternoon, where they were greeted by Chinese officials including Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, according to the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim’s special train arrived at Beijing Station at around 4 p.m., where he was welcomed by Chinese officials including Wang, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission and concurrent foreign minister; Cai Qi, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and secretary of the Secretariat of the Communist Party; and Yin Yong, party secretary of Beijing.
“It is a pleasure to visit the People’s Republic of China again after six years,” Kim reportedly told the officials. He also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping and the officials for the warm welcome, according to the KCNA report.
The KCNA’s real-time report of Kim’s itinerary comes as a rare move by North Korea. In his visit to Russia in 2023, the KCNA reported on his schedule two days after he left Pyongyang on September 10, 2023.
Reports have been made that the North Korean leader took his daughter, Ju-ae, on the trip. The KCNA released a photo of their arrival, confirming her presence in Beijing.
![In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, center, disembarks from a train as he arrives at a railway station in Beijing on Sept. 2. [XINHUA/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/09/02/7620077a-5363-4584-854a-6dbd4ff33ad7.jpg)
![A North Korean flag flutters from a train believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as it arrives in Beijing on Sept. 2. The North Korean leader is expected to attend a military parade in Beijing on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. [REUTERS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/09/02/72f74f3b-d777-44b0-942e-ac9e4d9ed11e.jpg)
The South Korean National Intelligence Service earlier commented that it is likely that Kim Jong-un took his daughter on the trip, signalling a possible announcement of Ju-ae as his successor in power.
Kim Ju-ae first made her official appearance in 2022 and has been expanding her presence in public affairs since. Kim Jong-un’s wife, Ri Sol-ju, on the other hand, has been spotted less frequently.
BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]
