US EditionSeoul Spy Agency Calls Kim Jong Un's Daughter His Heir
The agency cited credible intelligence and state media images of tank rides and firearms drills as it said the teen is being groomed for leadership.
- 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.
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Kim Ju Ae: Cameo or heir?
Editor’s note: This piece was originally published on Daily NK’s Korean website in March 2024. Kim Jong Un’s youngest daughter, Kim Ju Ae, has now been appearing at her father’s side in public for more than a year and a half. Each appearance stirs fresh debate among analysts and in the press: Is she being groomed as heir to the world’s only dynastic nuclear state? The question, though understandable, may be precisely the one Pyongyang wants the…
South Korean intelligence is certain, but there are doubts about the information.
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.
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