ALL WITHIN THE FAMILY, NOTHING OUTSIDE THE FAMILY, NOTHING AGAINST THE FAMILY: Is this teenage girl North Korea’s next dictator?

Every New Year, North Korea’s ruling elite gathers at Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to pay respects to the embalmed bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the first two leaders of the secretive state. At the centre usually stands Kim Jong Un.

Such rituals, conducted with senior officials and other Kim family members, are highly choreographed and among the most important in the calendar of the world’s only hereditary communist state. This year, though, there was a slight variation: Kim’s daughter Kim Ju Ae was pictured at the very centre, between her father and mother Ri Sol Ju.

Her positioning at the heart of the family appeared to be the latest stage in a process of introducing her as a possible future heir to North Koreans and the world.

Kim Ju Ae, who is believed to be 13 or 14 years old, has appeared at intercontinental ballistic missile launches, ceremonial parades showcasing the navy and factory inspections. She has driven a tank and fired guns, and senior generals have been photographed kneeling to brief her.

I’m sure she’ll turn out fine.