South Korean intelligence names likely heir to Kim Jong-un

The young daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen as her father’s heir apparent, South Korea’s spy agency said in Seoul’s first such assessment of the girl.

Since Kim Joo-ae, who is said to be around 10 years old, made her first public appearance in November 2022 while watching the test launch of a long-range missile with her father, she has been the subject of intense external debate and speculation, writes The Guardian.

Since then, Kim Ju-ae has accompanied Kim Jong Un to major public events, and state media has called her the North Korean leader’s “most beloved” or “respected” child and published footage and photographs showing her growing political authority and closeness with her father.

South Korea’s main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), gave its assessment of her future role, citing a comprehensive review of her public activities and government records provided to her.

A high-ranking general knelt down and whispered something to her as she clapped her hands while watching a military parade in the VIP Grandstand in September. She was once photographed standing in front of her father during a visit to Air Force headquarters in November, with father and daughter wearing sunglasses and long leather jackets. During New Year’s celebrations at a packed stadium in Pyongyang on Sunday, Kim Jong Un kissed her on the cheek and she did the same to her father.

Most of these scenes, The Guardian writes, are unimaginable in North Korea, where Kim Jong Un is the subject of intense and devoted worship.

By the way, on January 5, the North Korean news agency KCNA distributed news that stated the following: “The Secretary General of the WPK, Chairman of State Affairs of the DPRK, respected comrade Kim Jong-un, supervised on-site the affairs of the main plant for the production of military launch vehicles, which daily makes an increase in production through extraordinary raising the spiritual strength and patriotic enthusiasm of the masses, wholeheartedly supporting the ideas of the December plenum of the Party Central Committee in 2023. He was accompanied by his respected daughter.”

NIS’s public affairs office told The Associated Press that South Korea’s spy agency is still considering all options regarding the North’s transition process as Kim Jong Un is still young, has no known serious health problems, and has, at least one more child. Kim Jong-un turns 40 on Monday, according to The Guardian.

The National Intelligence Service in Seoul doesn’t have enough information about events in North Korea, one of the most secretive countries in the world. North Korean state media has yet to comment directly on the succession or whether Kim Ju-ae has siblings.

The assessment comes amid heightened tensions between neighboring countries, with North Korea firing more than 200 artillery shells near two South Korean islands and ordering residents of one to evacuate.

“The North Korean military conducted more than 200 shootings today from approximately 09:00 to 11:00 (12:00 to 02:00 GMT) in the Changsan-got areas of the northern part of Pangnen Island and the northern areas of… Yeonpyeong Island,” – a South Korean defense ministry spokesman said at a briefing.

Local officials in Yeonpyeong told AFP that civilians had been urged to evacuate, calling the order a “preventive measure.”

Doo Hyun Cha, an analyst at the Seoul-based Asia Institute of Policy Studies, said few can predict whether Kim Ju-ae will ultimately become the North’s next leader. The expert believes that the girl does not yet have enough political achievements necessary for an official appointment.

Since its founding in 1948, North Korea has been consistently ruled by men from the Kim family, The Guardian recalls. Kim Jong Un inherited power after the death of his father Kim Jong Il at the end of 2011. Kim Jong Il came to power after his father and North Korea’s founding ruler, Kim Il Sung, died in 1994.

Zhu Ae’s name matched what retired NBA star Dennis Rodman called Kim’s baby daughter, whom he said he saw and held in his arms during a 2013 trip to Pyongyang. Last year, South Korean intelligence told lawmakers in a closed briefing that Kim Joo-ae has an older brother and also a younger sibling (the sex of the child has not been confirmed by South Korea’s spy agency).

At the time, NIS said Kim Ju-ae was never enrolled in any official educational institution and was home-schooled in Pyongyang, according to some lawmakers who attended the briefing.