A seismic political shift may take place inside North Korea’s secretive power structure, as South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) says Kim Jong Un has selected his 13-year-old daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his successor.
The stunning assessment was delivered to lawmakers, with the spy agency citing a “range of circumstances,” particularly Ju Ae’s increasingly prominent appearances at top-level state events, as evidence that she has entered the formal stage of succession.
In September, Ju Ae accompanied her father to Beijing, her first known foreign trip.
The rare appearance abroad intensified speculation that she is being groomed to inherit the Kim dynasty.
Attention is now turning to whether she will attend North Korea’s upcoming party congress, the regime’s biggest political gathering held once every five years.
The event is expected to unveil the country’s roadmap on foreign policy, military strategy, and nuclear ambitions for the next five years.
Lee Seong-kwen, a South Korean lawmaker, told reporters that Ju Ae’s role has evolved beyond symbolic presence.
“As Kim Ju Ae has shown her presence at various events, including the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army and her visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, and signs have been detected of her voicing her opinion on certain state policies, the NIS believes she has now entered the stage of being designated as successor,” BBC quoted Lee as saying.
Ju Ae is the only publicly acknowledged child of Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju. Although South Korean intelligence believes Kim may have an older son, he has never appeared in North Korean media.
Her first public unveiling came in 2022, when she was shown on state television inspecting an intercontinental ballistic missile while holding her father’s hand, a carefully staged moment that sent shockwaves through the international community.
Since then, the teenager has repeatedly appeared at military parades and high-level engagements, often standing beside her father rather than behind him, a powerful visual cue in a regime where symbolism is tightly controlled.
Another South Korean lawmaker, Park Sun-won, suggested her growing presence indicates she may already be contributing to policy decisions and is effectively being treated as the second-most powerful figure in the country.
Power in North Korea has remained within three generations of the Kim family.
If confirmed, Ju Ae’s designation would not only cement the dynasty’s continuity but also mark a historic shift in a deeply patriarchal system long dominated by male rulers.
