South Korea’s spy agency says it’s now fair to view the teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as his heir, its strongest assessment yet on the rising political status of the girl who it believes could extend her family’s rule into a fourth generation.
Kim Ju-ae, dubbed by state media as Jong-un’s “most beloved” or “respected” child, has accompanied her father to numerous high-profile events since late 2022, sparking outside speculation that she’s being groomed as the North’s future leader.
In a closed-door briefing at the National Assembly, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) director Lee Jong-seok said Ju-ae could be considered as Jong-un’s successor in response to questions by lawmakers about her political standing, according to Lee Seong-kweun, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting yesterday.
Asked about possible protests by Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong, who has been long regarded as the North’s No.2 figure, the NIS director responded that she has no substantial powers, Seong-kweun told a briefing.
He cited the NIS as citing unspecified “reliable intelligence.”
It was a stronger assessment by the NIS on Ju-ae’s status.
In early 2024, it described Ju-ae as her father’s likely heir, its first official assessment on her possible grooming as the North’s next leader.
In February this year, the agency said it believed Ju-ae was close to being designated as the country’s future leader.
Some observers disagree with the NIS’ assessment, saying North Korea’s extremely male-centred society won’t likely embrace a woman leader.
They also said Jong-un, 42, is too young to name his successor, a development that could weaken his grip on power.
Ju-ae is reported to be about 13 years old, as North Korea’s state media hasn’t released such personal details.
Her reported name is based on an account by former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who recalled holding Jong-un’s baby daughter during a trip to Pyongyang in 2013.
Established in 1948, North Korea has been successively ruled by male members of the Kim family.
Jong-un inherited power upon his father Kim Jong-il’s death in late 2011. Jong-il took over power after his father and state founder Kim Il-sung died in 1994.
Some of Ju-ae’s recent public appearances included her driving a tank during army training supervised by her father and the pair firing pistols during a visit to a light munitions factory.
During yesterday’s briefing, the NIS said North Korean authorities appeared to have organised such events to build up her military credentials and “dispel scepticism about a woman successor”, Seong-kweun said.
Park Sun-won, another lawmaker who attended the briefing, made similar comments on the NIS’ assessment on Ju-ae’s recent military appearances. — AP
