North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has selected his daughter Kim Ju Ae as his heir, South Korea’s intelligence agency told lawmakers on Thursday.
The National Intelligence Service said it assessed that Ju Ae, believed to be about 13 years old, has now entered the stage of “successor designation,” citing a range of circumstances including her increasingly prominent public appearances at official events.
The agency said it would closely monitor whether she attends North Korea’s upcoming party congress, the country’s largest political gathering held every five years. The congress is expected to outline Pyongyang’s priorities on foreign policy, military strategy and nuclear development for the next five years.
Lawmaker Lee Seong-kwen told reporters that Ju Ae, previously described by the NIS as being trained as a potential successor, is now formally being positioned for the role. He pointed to her presence at major state occasions, including the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army and a visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. Signs have also been detected, he said, that she is voicing opinions on certain state policies.
Ju Ae is the only publicly known child of Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju. The NIS believes Kim may also have an older son, though he has never been acknowledged or shown in North Korean media.
News of Ju Ae first emerged in 2013 when former NBA star Dennis Rodman told The Guardian he had held “baby Ju Ae” during a visit to the country. She made her first appearance on state television in 2022, inspecting an intercontinental ballistic missile while holding her father’s hand.
Since then, she has frequently appeared in state media, often portrayed at her father’s side. During a visit to Beijing for a major military parade, she was seen stepping off his armoured train at Beijing Railway Station. She has also been photographed standing level with him, walking beside rather than behind him — a notable detail in a country where state imagery is carefully choreographed and symbolic.
Ju Ae is often shown with long hair, a style forbidden for most girls her age in North Korea, and wearing designer clothing that would be inaccessible to the vast majority of citizens.
Another lawmaker, Park Sun-won, said her visible role at public events indicates she is being treated as a de facto second-highest leader and has begun contributing to policy discussions.
Power in North Korea has passed through three generations of the Kim family, and it is widely believed Kim Jong Un intends to continue that lineage. However, questions remain about why a daughter would be chosen in a deeply patriarchal society, where many analysts and defectors have long viewed female leadership as unlikely.
Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, provides a precedent for female authority within the regime. She holds a senior role in the ruling party’s Central Committee and is reported to wield significant influence.
It also remains unclear why Kim Jong Un, who appears relatively young and healthy, is designating a successor at this stage.
What Ju Ae’s succession might mean for North Korea’s future direction is uncertain. When Kim Jong Un first assumed power, some citizens hoped the Western-educated leader would open the country to the outside world. Those expectations were largely unmet. If Ju Ae ultimately assumes leadership, she would inherit the concentrated authority to shape the country’s political and military course.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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