SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Thursday it believes the teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is close to being named the country’s next leader as it moves to extend the family dynasty to a fourth generation.
The assessment by the National Intelligence Service comes as North Korea prepares to hold its biggest political conference later this month, where Kim is expected to outline his major policy goals for the next five years and take steps to strengthen his authoritarian control.
In a closed-door briefing, NIS officials said they are closely monitoring whether Kim’s daughter – believed to be Kim Ju Ae and around 13 – appears with him in front of thousands of delegates at the upcoming Workers’ Party Congress, said lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting.
Making her first public appearance at a long-range missile test in November 2022, Kim Ju Ae has 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 for Kim’s first summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in six years, on the sidelines of a World War II event.
Speculation about her political future intensified last month when she joined her parents on a New Year’s visit to Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a sacred family mausoleum that displays the embalmed 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 positioned to be her 42-year-old father’s heir.
South Korean officials initially expressed doubt that she could be elected as North Korean leader, citing the country’s deeply conservative culture and tradition of male-dominated leadership. But her increasingly prominent appearances in state media prompted a reassessment.
In its previous review of Kim Ju Ae’s status in September, the NIS told lawmakers that Kim Jong Un’s decision to bring her with her on his trip to China was likely part of an effort to build a “narrative” that could pave the way for her succession.
“In the past, (NIS) described Kim Ju Ae as being in the middle of ‘successor training.’ What was remarkable today is that they used the term ‘successor-designated stage,’ a pretty significant change,” Lee said.
According to Lee, the agency cited her increasing presence at high-profile military events, her inclusion in the family’s visit to Kumsusan and signs that Kim Jong Un was beginning to seek her opinion on certain policy matters.
Not much is known about Kim’s daughter
Despite her increased visibility in propaganda, North Korean state media have never published the name of Kim Jong Un’s daughter, referring only 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 daughter during a 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 likely also have an older son and a third younger child whose gender is unknown.
Since its founding in 1948, North Korea has been ruled by male members of the Kim family, beginning with the country’s founder Kim Il Sung and followed by his son, Kim Jong Il.
Kim Jong Un was just 26 when he was officially named heir apparent during a party conference in 2010, two years after Kim Jong Il suffered a debilitating stroke. After his father’s death in December 2011, he was thrust suddenly onto the throne with relatively little preparation.
Some analysts suggest that Kim Jong Un’s decision to introduce his daughter early probably reflects his own experience of being thrust into power.
The party congress can provide clues about succession plans
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 leadership, the trip should be seen as a symbolic gesture by Kim Jong Un to present his daughter as heir to his grandfather and father as he prepares for the ruling party’s major congress, said Cheong Seong-Chang, a senior analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute.
The Workers’ Party Congress at the end of February, last held in 2016 and 2021, could provide a stage for Kim Jong Un to formalize his succession plans, possibly giving his daughter the post of first secretary of the party, his No. 1 job. 2, although such a decision may not be immediately revealed to the outside world, Cheong said.
Other analysts question whether she would be given such a high-profile post or any formal party role, given that party rules require members to be at least 18 years old.
If Kim Jong Un is using the party congress to cement his daughter as his successor, the signs would be more subtle, said Koh Yu-hwan, former president of South Korea’s Institute for National Unification.
For example, the party may issue self-praise about how North Korea has survived longer than most other communist states and attribute this to how the country has established a “successful legacy of revolution,” he said.
“If you see such comments, it would be reasonable to think that Ju Ae has been cemented,” said Koh as the heir.