North Korea issues stamps featuring Kim Jong Un's daughter

A new series of stamps commemorating the November launch of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile feature Kim Jong Un's daughter Kim Ju Ae for the first time. File Photo by KCNA/EPA-EFE
1 of 2 | A new series of stamps commemorating the November launch of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile feature Kim Jong Un's daughter Kim Ju Ae for the first time. File Photo by KCNA/EPA-EFE

SEOUL, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- North Korea unveiled a series of postage stamps Tuesday featuring leader Kim Jong Un's daughter, Kim Ju Ae, for the first time.

The stamps, which will be issued on Friday, are part of a series commemorating the November launch of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, North Korea's largest.

Images released by the North Korean postal service on its website show five stamps with Ju Ae, including scenes of her walking hand-in-hand with her father in front of a missile launcher and posing with troops.

The launch marked the first public appearance of Ju Ae, who is believed to be around 10 years old. She has been seen on multiple occasions since, including at a military parade last week marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army, raising speculation among analysts that she is being positioned as Kim Jong Un's eventual successor.

The Kim family has been in power since North Korea's establishment in 1948 under Kim Il Sung. After his death in 1994, his son Kim Jong Il took power, followed by third-generation leader Kim Jong Un in late 2011.

Little else is known about the girl, who is referred to in North Korean media as the "esteemed" or "beloved" daughter of Kim Jong Un. South Korean intelligence believes she is the middle of the North Korean leader's three children.

After a high-profile visit to North Korea in 2013, former NBA star Dennis Rodman said that he met with Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and "held their baby Ju Ae."

The other stamps in the series feature the Hwasong-17 in various positions before and after launch. The military parade last Wednesday showed off 11 of the massive ICBMs, which are believed to be capable of reaching anywhere in the United States and can potentially be fitted with multiple nuclear warheads.

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