The nominee to be the next director of South Korea’s spy agency said Thursday he sees North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Ju-ae, as his “most likely successor,” marking the agency’s first assessment of her possible succession in the reclusive regime.
Ju-ae, born in 2013, has gained the spotlight since Nov. 18, 2022, when her father brought her to the launch site of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile in her first public appearance. Since then, her public activities have been centered on military events.
North Korea’s state media has begun calling Ju-ae Kim’s “respected” daughter, changing its previous manner of naming her as his beloved or the most beloved daughter, fueling speculation she may be groomed as Kim’s successor.
“Based on analyses on her public activities and the level of the North’s respect toward her since her public appearance, Kim Ju-ae appears to be the most likely successor,” Cho Tae-yong, the nominee to lead the National Intelligence Service (NIS), remarked in a parl
iamentary report for his confirmation hearing.
Still, he said the NIS leaves all possibilities open over the North’s power succession, as North Korea’s incumbent leader is still young and apparently has no health problems, and there are also many variables.
Previously, the NIS said it is “too early” to determine that Ju-ae would be an heir apparent to succeed Kim Jong-un in a deeply patriarchal, male-dominated society.
The agency said Kim Jong-un is believed to have another child whose gender is unknown.
Citing intelligence, the spy agency earlier said Kim is believed to have three children and his first child is a son, with the gender of the third one being unknown.
Last month, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said the North’s leader appears to be “in a hurry” to bring Ju-ae to the forefront in a bid to demonstrate his commitment to the third hereditary power succession amid increased economic difficulties.
Kim Jong-un took over the communist country following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in 2
011. The late Kim inherited power from his father, the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
