Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, accompanied by his wife and daughter, cut the ribbon to open a new industrial complex under local development policies aimed at reducing the urban-rural gap. This marked the first time in several months the family appeared together at a public event.
On 16 Dec 2025, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un appeared with his family, including his wife Ri Sol Ju and daughter Kim Ju Ae, to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new industrial complex in Kangdong district, on the outskirts of Pyongyang. This was the family's first public appearance together in several months.
The report stated that the ceremony took place on 15 Dec in Kangdong district, featuring the construction of industrial factories and a multipurpose service center, in line with Kim Jong Un's distinctive regional development policy.
Photographs released by KCNA showed Kim Jong Un cutting the ribbon and inspecting a food processing factory along with the community service center. He expressed satisfaction with the project's progress, stating that advancing regional development and bringing valuable wealth and civilization to the people is a sacred mission that the party must continue unconditionally.
Kim Ju Ae's presence, widely viewed as a potential future political successor, attracted special attention since she has mostly participated in military-related activities before, whereas this event focused on economic and public welfare matters.
At the previous week's plenary meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea, authorities selected 20 cities and districts for construction projects under the new phase of local development policy. North Korea is pushing local development measures to reduce the gap between urban and rural areas. Previously, Kim Jong Un visited Kangdong district in February to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a hospital and multipurpose service center, with the hospital project completed in November.
Source: Yonhap