E-Paper
North Korea's Kim Jong Un chooses teen daughter as ‘successor’, says Seoul's spy agency
Kim Ju Ae, believed to be 13, has had an “increasingly prominent public presence at official events”. She visited Beijing alongside her father in September.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has selected his teenage daughter Kim Ju Ae as his “successor”, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), which said that the North Korean leader has picked his daughter as his heir, said it has taken a “range of circumstances” into account before making this assessment, BBC reported.
Kim Ju Ae, believed to be 13, has had an “increasingly prominent public presence at official events” in the recent days, according to NIS, and has been seen alongside her father at high-profile events.
She also undertook her first known public trip abroad when she visited Beijing in September, according to BBC. Ju Ae is reportedly the only known child of Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju. While the NIS believes the North Korean leader has an elder son, he has not been acknowledged or seen publicly.
Signs of Kim Ju Ae voicing opinion on certain state policies, says lawmaker
Amid the alleged revelations by NIS, South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kwen told reporters that Ju Ae, earlier described by the spy agency as being “trained” to take over, was now at the stage of “successor designation.”
“…Signs have been detected of her voicing her opinion on certain state policies, the NIS believes she has now entered the stage of being designated as successor,” BBC cited Lee as saying.
The NIS has, meanwhile, said it will keep close tabs on whether Ju Ae will be present at the North's party congress later this month. The congress, the largest political event held every five years, is where Pyongyang is expected to provide details on foreign policy, war planning and nuclear ambitions.
Signs of Ju Ae's succession in recent years
South Korean lawmaker Lee said that Kim Ju Ae has been present at various events recently, including the founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army. She also visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, according to the BBC report.
She made her first public appearance in 2022, when she was seen inspecting North Korea's latest intercontinental ballistic missile while holding her father's hand.
Since then, Ju Ae's appearances have become more frequent. Lawmaker Park Sun-won told BBC that her role during public events hinted that she had begun to provide policy input, and is also being seen as the de facto second-highest leader.
In the past months, she has been shown standing taller than her father, and walks beside him, instead of following him. Photographs published by the state media in North Korea carries symbolic weight, where the North Korean leader being positioned equally with other individuals in a frame is a rarity.
Another factor is the passing of power in North Korea, wherein the role of the head of state has been handed down the three generations of the Kim family. This is expected to be followed in the case of Kim Jong Un too.
