The teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could be considered his successor, Seoul’s spy agency has been reported as saying.
The child, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae and aged around 13, has accompanied her father to several high-profile events since late 2022.
And the pair rode in a tank together last month, sparking further speculation she is being positioned as the secretive country’s future leader.
On Monday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) director Lee Jong-seok said in a closed-door briefing at the National Assembly the girl could be considered Mr Kim‘s successor, according to Lee Seong Kweun, one of the politicians in attendance.
NIS reportedly said its assessment was based on “credible intelligence” collected by the agency.
Asked about potential protests from Mr Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong, who has long been viewed as North Korea‘s number two figure, the NIS director responded that she has no substantial powers, Mr Lee told a briefing.
It is the agency’s strongest assessment yet on the rising political status of the teenager who it believes could extend her family’s rule into a fourth generation.
In early 2024, the NIS described the child as Mr Kim’s likely heir, and in February this year, the agency said it believed she was close to being designated as the nation’s future leader.
Some observers disagree with the assessments, arguing North Korea’s extremely male-centred society will likely not embrace a woman leader.
Apart from her age and name, not much else is known about Kim Ju Ae, and even those details are unconfirmed.
While North Korean state media has never published her name, it does refer to her as Kim Jong Un’s “most beloved” or “respected” child.
South Korean media has previously speculated that she is the leader’s second of three children, and that the first child is a son. However, analysts have questioned the credibility of the reports.
North Korea, which is one of the world’s most secretive nations, has not confirmed whether Ju Ae has any siblings.
The girl made her first public appearance in November 2022, when she watched a long-range missile test launch with her father.
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They also say Mr Kim, 42, is too young to name a future leader, a development that could weaken his ruling of the country.
In a public appearance in March, the pair fired pistols during a visit to a light munitions factory.
The NIS, during Monday’s briefing, said North Korean authorities appeared to have organised such events to build up her military credentials and “reduce scepticism about a woman successor”, Mr Lee said.
The girl’s reported name is based on an account by former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who recalled holding Mr Kim’s baby daughter during a visit to Pyongyang in 2013.
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North Korea, established in 1948, has been successively ruled by male members of the Kim family.
Kim Jong Un inherited power upon his father Kim Jong Il’s death in late 2011. Kim Jong Il took control after his father and state founder Kim Il Sung died in 1994.
