When North Korea 's leader Kim Jong Un stepped off his armored train in Beijing to attend celebrations marking 80 years since the end of WWII in Asia, his young daughter Kim Ju Ae surprised the cameras as she appeared then followed alongside him. Believed to be 12 or 13 years old and referred to as "beloved child" in North Korean state media, this was her first known trip outside the country.

To casual observers, Kim Ju Ae's appearance Tuesday might be seen as a father-daughter bonding trip. But her arrival in China could be more than that: Kim Jong Un 's signal that she is in the mix for future succession plans.

"Because when North Korea finalizes their successor process, they are used to bringing this successor to China," said Park Won-gon, professor of North Korean Studies

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