Kim Jong Un's arrival in China for his first ever multilateral meeting was always going to make headlines.
But it was the smartly-dressed girl standing just behind him as he exited his armoured train which caught Korea watchers' attention: Kim Ju Ae, the North Korean leader's daughter.
According to South Korea's spy agency, Miss Kim is her father's most likely successor.
But details - including her exact age - are thin on the ground. So what exactly do we know?
Miss Kim has, for a number of years, been believed to be the second of Kim Jong Un's and his wife, Ri Sol-Ju's, three children. The exact number, and their order, is by no means certain, however Kim is very secretive about his family, only introducing his wife to the public after they had been married for some time.
Kim Ju Ae is their only child whose existence has been confirmed by the country's leadership. No other child has been seen in public.
News of her existence first emerged through an unlikely source: basketball player Dennis Rodman, who revealed to The Guardian newspaper back in 2013 that he held their baby Ju Ae during a trip to the secretive state.
Little was heard about her until November 2022 when she appeared alongside her father at the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
By February the next year, she was appearing on postage stamps and attending banquets for top officials - described as Kim Jong Un's respected daughter.
The adjective respected is reserved for North Korea's most revered. In her father's case, he was referred to as respected comrade only after his status as future leader was cemented.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) provided lawmakers with additional details on the little girl. According to NIS, she enjoys horse riding, skiing, and swimming, and was home-schooled in the capital Pyongyang. They suggested she was around 10 years old.
By January 2024, the NIS concluded that she was the most likely successor to Kim Jong Un, noting however that there were many variables still in play. Since then, she has frequently been seen by her father's side during events, including military parades, receiving salutes from senior military commanders.
This recent trip marks her first appearance outside North Korea, which is likely to fuel further speculation about her potential roles in the country's future leadership. The Kim family, who have ruled North Korea since 1948, promote the idea that they come from a sacred bloodline, suggesting that only they are fit to lead.
However, speculation continues that Kim may be introducing his daughter to counteract traditional gender biases in a deeply patriarchal society that has never embraced a female leader.
