Spy agency says Kim Jong Un’s daughter is close to be North Korea’s future leader : NPR

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center left, and his daughter, center right, arrive at the Eastern Pyongyang Grand Theater in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 29, 2025.

朝鮮通信社/AP/KCNA via KNS

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朝鮮通信社/AP/KCNA via KNS

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s intelligence agency told lawmakers Thursday it believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter is poised to be tapped as the country’s future leader as he strives to extend the family dynasty to a fourth generation.

The National Intelligence Service’s assessment comes as North Korea prepares to hold its biggest political conference later this month, during which Kim is expected to outline his main policy goals for the next five years and take steps to strengthen his authoritarian grip.

In a closed-door briefing, NIS officials said they were closely monitoring whether Kim’s daughter – believed to be named Kim Ju Ae and believed to be around 13 years old – would appear with him before thousands of delegates at the upcoming Workers’ Party congress, said lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting.

First appearing in public during a long-range missile test in November 2022, Kim Ju 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 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 for a New Year’s visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, a sacred family mausoleum displaying 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 capable of being her 42-year-old father’s heir.

South Korean officials initially expressed doubts about her being chosen as North Korea’s leader, citing the country’s deeply conservative culture and tradition of male-dominated leadership. But his increasingly prominent appearances in state media have led to a reassessment.

In its previous assessment of Kim Ju Ae’s status in September, the NIS told lawmakers that Kim Jong Un’s decision to take her with him on his trip to China was likely part of an effort to construct a “narrative” that could pave the way for his succession.

“In the past, (NIS) described Kim Ju Ae as being in the ‘successor training’ stage. What’s notable today is that they used the term ‘successor designation stage,’ a fairly significant change,” Lee said.

According to Lee, the agency cited his increasing presence at high-profile military events, his participation in the family visit to Kumsusan and signs that Kim Jong Un was beginning to seek his advice on certain political issues.

Not much is known about Kim’s daughter

Despite her increased visibility 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 recalled holding Kim Jong Un’s baby daughter during a trip to Pyongyang in 2013. South Korean intelligence officials believe she was born that year.

In 2023, South Korea’s intelligence agency told lawmakers that Kim Jong Un and his wife likely also have an older son and a third, younger child whose sex 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 when he was officially named heir at 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 abruptly thrust to the throne with relatively little preparation.

Some analysts suggest that Kim Jong Un’s decision to give birth to his daughter early may reflect his own experience of being rushed to power.

Party congress could give guidance on 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 rule, the trip should be seen as a symbolic gesture by Kim Jong Un to present his daughter as his heir in front of 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 late February Workers’ Party congress, last held in 2016 and 2021, could provide an opportunity for Kim Jong Un to formalize his succession plans, possibly by giving his daughter the top party secretary post, his No. 2 position, although such a move might not be immediately disclosed to the outside world, Cheong said.

Other analysts question whether she would get such a prestigious position or formal role within the party, given that party rules require members to be at least 18 years old.

If Kim Jong Un uses the party congress to cement his daughter as successor, the signs would be more subtle, said Koh Yu-hwan, former president of South Korea’s Institute of National Unification.

For example, the party may pride itself on how North Korea has survived longer than most other communist states and attribute that to how the country has established a “successful legacy of revolution,” he said.

“If you see comments like that, it would be reasonable to think that Ju Ae has been cemented,” Koh said as heir.