SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s spy agency says it is now fair to consider North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter as his heir, the strongest assessment yet of the girl’s rising political status and the belief that she could extend her family’s rule into the fourth generation.
The girl, described by state media as Kim Jong Un’s “most beloved” or “most respected” child, has accompanied her father to a number of high-profile events since late 2022, sparking speculation that she is being groomed to be North Korea’s future leader.
At a closed briefing at the National Assembly on Monday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service chief Lee Jong-seok said in response to lawmakers’ questions about her political status that the girl could be considered Kim Jong Un’s successor, said Lee Seong Kweun, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.
When asked about possible protests by Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, who has long been considered North Korea’s No. 2 leader, the director of the National Intelligence Service responded that she had no substantive power, Rep. Lee said at the briefing. He cited the National Intelligence Service, citing unspecified “reliable intelligence.”
This is the NIS’s stronger assessment of the girl’s status. In early 2024, reports described the girl as her father’s possible heir, the first official assessment that she could become North Korea’s next leader. In February, the agency said it believed she was close to being named the country’s future leader.
Some observers disagree with the National Intelligence Service’s assessment, saying North Korea’s extremely male-centric society is unlikely to embrace female leaders. They also say Kim, 42, is too young to name a successor, a development that could weaken his grip on power.
The girl is reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and is about 13 years old, but North Korean state media have not released such personal details. She was reportedly named after former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who recalled holding Kim Jong Un’s young daughter during a 2013 trip to Pyongyang.
North Korea was founded in 1948 and has been ruled by successive male members of the Kim family. Kim Jong Un inherited power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in late 2011. Kim Jong Il inherited power after the death of his father, the country’s founder Kim Il Sung, in 1994.
Some of the girl’s recent public appearances include her driving a tank during army training overseen by her father, and two men firing pistols during a visit to a light arms factory.
At a press conference on Monday, the National Intelligence Service said the North Korean authorities appeared to organize such events to enhance her military credentials and “reduce suspicions about female successors,” Rep. Lee said.
Park Sunwon, another lawmaker who attended the briefing, made similar comments about the NIS’s assessment of the girl’s recent appearance in the military.
