Kim Jong Un’s daughter is about to be named future leader of: South Korea’s spy agency

Seoul, South Korea — South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday that it believes… Teenage daughter North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is close to being named the country’s future leader as he moves to extend the family line into a fourth generation.

The assessment conducted by the National Intelligence Service comes as North Korea prepares to hold its meeting The largest political conference Later this month, Kim is expected to set out his main policy goals for the next five years and take steps to tighten his authoritarian grip.

In a closed-door briefing, national intelligence officials said they were closely monitoring whether Kim’s daughter — believed to be Kim Joo-ae and around 13 years old — would appear with him in front of thousands of delegates at the upcoming Workers’ Party congress, said lawmaker Lee Seung-kwan, who attended the meeting.

First public appearance in A Long-range missile test In November 2022, Kim Joo Ae has since accompanied her father to an increasing number of events, including weapons tests, military parades and factory openings. She traveled with him to Beijing last September to attend Kim’s first wedding Summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping In six years on the sidelines of World War II.

Speculation about her political future increased last month when she joined her parents on a visit to Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a sacred family shrine that displays the mummified bodies of her late grandfather and great-grandfather, the country’s first and second-generation leaders. Some experts saw the visit as the clearest sign yet that she is in a position to be her 42-year-old father’s heiress.

South Korean officials He initially expressed doubt That she could be chosen as North Korea’s leader, citing the country’s ultra-conservative culture and male-dominated leadership tradition. But its increasingly prominent appearance in state media has prompted a reassessment.

In it Previous evaluation Regarding Kim Jo Ae’s status in September, the National Intelligence Agency told lawmakers that Kim Jong Un’s decision to bring her with him on his trip to China was likely part of an attempt to build a “narrative” that might pave the way for her succession.

“In the past, NIS described Kim Joo Ae as being in the midst of ‘successor training.’ “What is notable today is that they used the term ‘designated successor stage,’ which is a very important shift,” Lee said.

According to Lee, the agency cited its increased presence at high-level military events, its inclusion in the family visit to Kumsusan, and indications that Kim Jong Un has begun requesting its input on some political matters.

Despite her increasing prominence in propaganda, North Korean state media has never published the name of Kim Jong Un’s daughter, only referring to her as his “respected” or “most beloved” child.

The belief that her name is Kim Ju Ae is based on an account by former NBA star Dennis Rodman, in which he recalls holding Kim Jong Un’s infant daughter during… Trip to Pyongyang In 2013. South Korean intelligence officials believe she was born sometime that year.

In 2023, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers that Kim Jong Un and his wife would likely also have… The eldest son and the third youngest child whose gender is unknown.

Since its founding in 1948, North Korea has been ruled by male members of the Kim family, starting with the country’s founder Kim Il Sung and then his son, Kim Jong Il.

Kim Jong Un was just 26 years old when he was officially named heir apparent during the 2010 party congress, two years after Kim Jong Il suffered a debilitating stroke. After his father’s death in December 2011, he was suddenly thrust onto the throne with relatively little preparation.

Some analysts suggest that Kim Jong Un’s decision to make his daughter’s debut early may reflect his own experience of the rush to power.

Kim Ju Ae’s first known visit to Kumsusan last month was also her father’s first visit to the site in three years. Given the palace’s status as a key symbol of the Kim family’s rule, the trip should be seen as a symbolic gesture by Kim Jong Un to present his daughter as his heir ahead of his grandfather and father as he prepares for a key ruling party congress, said Cheung Seung Chang, a senior analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute.

The Workers’ Party congress in late February, which was last held in 2016 and 2021, could provide a stage for Kim Jong Un to formalize his succession plans, perhaps by giving his daughter the position of party chief secretary, the No. 2 job, though such a decision may not be immediately revealed to the outside world, Cheung said.

Other analysts wonder whether she will obtain such a high-level position or any official role in the party, given that party rules require members to be at least 18 years old.

Koh Yu-hwan, former head of South Korea’s National Unification Institute, said that if Kim Jong Un uses the party congress to cement his daughter as his successor, the signs will be more precise.

For example, the party might issue self-praise about how North Korea has survived longer than most other communist countries, attributing it to how the country has established a “successful legacy of revolution,” he says.

“If you see comments like that, it’s reasonable to think that Joo Ai has been cemented” as heir, Koh said.