South Korea’s spy agency says Kim Jong Un has designated his 13-year-old daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his successor, citing her increasingly prominent public role.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has selected his teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his heir, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers on Thursday. The agency cited her growing public profile at major state events and said it was monitoring whether she would attend the ruling party congress later this month, a key political gathering.
Lawmaker Lee Seong-kwen said Ju Ae had moved into “successor designation,” noting appearances at military anniversaries and the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. “As Kim Ju Ae has shown her presence at various events… the NIS believes she has now entered the stage of being designated as successor,” he said, despite questions over her age and North Korea’s patriarchal norms.