North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly selected his 13-year-old daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his successor, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers on Thursday.
The agency cited a “range of circumstances,” including her increasingly prominent public appearances with her father, in assessing her status as designated heir. Ju Ae has been seen at high-profile events such as the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army, visits to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, and a September trip to Beijing, her first known journey abroad.
Lawmakers noted that her involvement in official events and emerging signs of policy input indicate that she is being treated as the de facto second-highest leader in North Korea. Analysts believe this marks the first time in the nation’s patriarchal, three-generation Kim dynasty that a female successor has been officially recognized, though precedents exist with Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, holding senior leadership roles.
Ju Ae is the only acknowledged child of Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, though the NIS believes the leader may have an older son who has never been publicly acknowledged. State media appearances of Ju Ae, including inspecting intercontinental ballistic missiles alongside her father, are seen as symbolic demonstrations of her rising status.
Experts say the decision raises questions given the country’s tradition of male succession and the fact that Kim Jong Un is still relatively young and healthy. The timing of designating a 13-year-old as heir is unprecedented and signals that Kim is actively planning for the long-term continuity of the Kim dynasty.
While Ju Ae’s future policies remain unknown, her appointment solidifies her central role in North Korea’s leadership hierarchy and underscores the regime’s careful use of symbolic imagery in state media to convey political priorities.
