Kim Jong-un Arrives in Beijing but “Kisses Elsewhere” – Daughter Mocked as “Kim Dead Fat”

On the afternoon of September 2, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Beijing on his green, bulletproof train to attend the September 3 military parade. (Video screenshot)

[People News] On the afternoon of September 2, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Beijing on his green, bulletproof train to attend the September 3 military parade. Much attention has focused on whether Kim’s eldest daughter, Kim Ju-ae, accompanied him. Netizens mocked her as North Korea’s “Kim Four Fat” (金四胖), which sounds like “Kim Dead Fat” (金死胖), an ominous nickname. Experts note that China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran form an authoritarian axis of regimes. While they put on a show of solidarity, they lack moral principles or unity, making this “evil axis” fundamentally unstable and vulnerable to collapse under external pressure.

North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun on September 2 published photos of Kim Jong-un travelling with Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and others, showing the deep green train believed to be his armoured train.

South Korean intelligence has speculated that, in addition to senior officials like Choe, Kim Jong-un’s wife Ri Sol-ju, daughter Kim Ju-ae, and sister Kim Yo-jong may also be accompanying him to Beijing.

According to South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo (Sept. 2), if Kim Ju-ae were to appear with her father alongside dozens of heads of state on Tiananmen Gate, it could generate a “bloodline legitimacy” effect for succession. Some experts believe her participation would further strengthen her position as heir in a hereditary system that has already seen four generations of leadership.

On Chinese social media, netizens mocked: “Kim Fatty the Third brought along Kim Fatty the Fourth. But ‘Four Fat’ sounds like ‘Dead Fat,’ an unlucky omen. Heaven will destroy the CCP, and North Korea will vanish along with it. All who side with the CCP meet a tragic end.”

In recent years, Kim Jong-un has often brought his eldest daughter, Kim Ju-ae, with him on trips abroad, leading to speculation that he intends to announce her position as his future successor. (AI-generated image)

Foreign media have also pointed out that Kim’s behaviour in Beijing will be closely scrutinised. Any diplomatic misstep could reinforce his image as an isolated dictator and turn him into an international laughingstock.

At the September 3 parade, Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Xi Jinping. Russian media revealed that Kim and Putin will stand at Xi’s sides—a first for Kim to appear publicly with multiple world leaders. But both are pariahs: Putin wanted by the International Criminal Court, Kim under heavy international sanctions. Their joint appearance at a World War II victory commemoration highlights a new strategic alignment. Also attending will be Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, bringing together the so-called new “axis of evil,” a grouping that has drawn global attention.

How Kim interacts with Putin and Xi during the parade will be another focal point.

It is worth recalling that Xi Jinping visited South Korea in July 2014 and met then-President Park Geun-hye, which reportedly enraged Kim Jong-un. In front of his troops, he allegedly cursed Xi as a “dog’s son.”

Feng Chongyi, associate professor at the University of Sydney, told The Epoch Times that Kim and Xi have fundamental contradictions: “Kim himself is a dictator and doesn’t want to play the junior partner. Xi provides money and food, but insists on acting like Big Brother. China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are seen as the new axis of evil—an international alliance of dictatorships. They may have divergent goals, but they unite against the global democratic alliance. At an event like the Beijing parade, it’s no surprise they show up to support each other.”

For years, the CCP has described its ties with North Korea using phrases like “as close as lips and teeth.” But after the outbreak of the Russia–Ukraine war, Kim has drawn closer to Putin, meeting him frequently. Putin has spoken of a “solid friendship” with Kim, while Kim has called China a “millennial enemy.” Aidan Foster-Carter, a sociologist who has studied North Korea for decades, remarked that Kim’s “lips are kissing elsewhere”: “For Russia and China, North Korea has always been a comrade from hell. They take whatever money they can, then do whatever they want. Beijing now feels slighted that Kim shows no gratitude toward the CCP.”

U.S.-based political analyst Chen Pokong has also noted that distrust of China runs deep in the Kim family regime—they use Beijing but do not trust it. The CCP, meanwhile, wants to support North Korea as a lever against the West, but does not want Pyongyang to become too strong. A prosperous North Korea would pose a threat to Beijing itself.

Chen further observed that China, North Korea, and Russia's relations are extremely delicate. Moscow’s close embrace of Pyongyang can be seen as a challenge to Beijing, even a theft of its ally. The West sees China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran as forming an “axis of evil,” but in reality, this axis is riddled with tensions. Because all these regimes are dictatorships devoid of moral principles, the alliance is fundamentally fragile and could collapse suddenly under certain external pressures. △