Seoul says Kim Jong Un's teenage daughter is now his designated successor
South Korea's spy agency says Kim Ju Ae, the teenage daughter of North Korea's leader, has reached the stage of designated successor, with military appearances building her image as a future military leader.
South Korea's spy agency has told lawmakers that Kim Ju Ae, the teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has now reached the stage of being designated as his successor.
The National Intelligence Service said its assessment rests on a range of circumstances, including her increasingly prominent public presence at official events. About sixty percent of her appearances are military-related, and the agency says Pyongyang is building her image as a military leader, including through appearances linked to missile and nuclear affairs.
The agency also confirmed her name as Kim Ju Ae, a name North Korea's state media has never publicly used. She first appeared beside her father in twenty twenty-two and has since joined him at military parades and on a rare trip to Beijing.
Seoul is now watching whether she attends the party congress, the North's biggest political gathering, and what protocol and rank she is given there. A teenage girl taking over would break a run of male rulers across three generations of the Kim family.
Reporting based on coverage from BBC News.