Kim Jong Un’s teen daughter positioned as successor, Seoul Says

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Seoul: South Korea’s main intelligence service has reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing his teenage daughter, Kim Ju-ae, to succeed him, a development that could shape the Hermit Kingdom’s future leadership. The assessment was delivered to South Korean lawmakers on Thursday, highlighting increasing signs that Ju-ae is being positioned as her father’s heir.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told legislators that Ju-ae appears to have moved beyond being merely “in study as a successor” to being in the stage of internal designation as successor, based on her growing visibility in state media and presence at official events.

At recent celebrations and ceremonies, Ju-ae believed to be in her early teens has appeared beside her father and other top officials, including during inspections of strategic programs. Her appearances have sparked speculation that Pyongyang is strengthening the narrative of fourth-generation rule in the Kim dynasty.

Little is publicly known about Ju-ae’s life outside state forward positioning; North Korea’s leadership maintains a strict secrecy around personal details of the ruling family. Her first public spotlight came in 2022, and she has since been featured in multiple high-profile state media broadcasts.

South Korean lawmakers briefing the media stressed they will watch closely whether Ju-ae is given an official title or protocol role at the upcoming Workers’ Party Congress, a major political event where North Korea is expected to outline key policies for the coming years.

While the assessment comes from external intelligence and not any official announcement from Pyongyang, the growing prominence of Kim’s daughter reflects a rare public signal about future leadership direction in one of the world’s most opaque regimes.

Photo Credit:KCNA