US EditionSeoul Spy Agency Calls Kim Jong Un's Daughter His Heir
The agency said 13-year-old Kim Ju Ae is being groomed with military imagery to build support for a fourth-generation succession.
- On Monday, South Korea's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's daughter Ju-ae is likely his successor, basing the assessment on what it described as "credible intelligence" rather than circumstantial signs.
- North Korean authorities recently showcased Ju-ae driving a battle tank during military drills to build her military credentials, aiming to "dispel skepticism about a woman successor" and accelerate the succession narrative.
- Believed to be around 13, Ju-ae has accompanied her father to numerous high-profile events since late 2022, with state media dubbing her Kim's "most beloved" or "respected" child, fueling outside speculation about succession.
- While lawmakers questioned whether Kim's sister Kim Yo-jong might oppose the focus on her niece, the NIS assessed she holds no independent power within the regime that has ruled North Korea for eight decades.
- These public military displays pay "homage" to Kim's own training in the early 2010s before he succeeded his father Kim Jong-il, suggesting the North is preparing to extend the family's rule into a fourth generation.
78 Articles
78 Articles
South Korea Rival Intelligence Service states that the 'most dear' daughter of the North Korean dictator can be prepared to lead a regime ordered by the Kim family since 1948
The daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was most recently accommodating during army visits. South Korea's secret service believes that the girl should be staged as a leader.
Kim Ju Ae, the daughter of Kim Jong Un, was seen with him, flying a tank. A symbol that designates her as an heir to her father's estate, according to the South Korean secret service. - North Korea: Kim Jong's 13-year-old daughter Has she become her official heir? (International).
Is North Korea facing a historic change of power? According to South Korean intelligence, the daughter of leader Kim Jong Un could be built into the next leader of the closed state. South Korean intelligence NIS expects Kim's daughter to be positioned as a political successor. "This is not a verdict based on simple circumstantial evidence, but on intelligence information," said NIS director Lee Jong Seok, according to the official news agency Yo…
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