Kim Jong-un’s daughter is his likely successor, says South Korea

Written by Choe Sang-Hun

The young daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has frequently accompanied her father at public events, including long-range missile tests, is Kim’s most likely successor should he die, the South Korean intelligence agency told lawmakers Thursday.

Although North Korea has not revealed any personal details about the daughter, including her name and age, South Korean officials have identified her as Kim Ju Ae. As a baby, Ju Ae drew headlines when retired NBA star Dennis Rodman said he was allowed to hold the child upon meeting Kim in Pyongyang, North Korea, in 2013.

The North’s state media has referred to her as a “most beloved” or “respected” child of Kim and has shown military generals and other high-ranking officials kneeling before her. Such scenes have triggered widespread speculation among outside analysts that the daughter was being groomed as heir apparent to her father.

This photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, right, and his daughter attend a party in the celebration of the launch of a spy satellite in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Nov. 23, 2023. (AP/PTI)

But until now, the South Korean government has been cautious in speculating about the girl’s status within North Korea’s secretive regime. South Korean officials have said that although the dynastic rule of the Kim family would probably continue in the North after Kim’s death, they were not sure which child would succeed him.

Kim had another child younger than Ju Ae, according to South Korean officials. They said they were checking intelligence that Kim may also have a child older than Ju Ae who might be a son. So far, Ju Ae is the only child of Kim known to have appeared in public.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and his daughter visit the National Aerospace Development Administration in North Korea, April 18, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

“As of now, Kim Ju Ae is seen as the most likely successor,” the National Intelligence Agency, South Korea’s main government-run spy agency, said in an assessment released Thursday through a member of the National Assembly. The assessment was included in written answers the agency provided to questions from Youn Kun Young, a member of the assembly’s intelligence committee.

But the agency cautioned that it was also considering “all possibilities” in the North’s succession plan, given “many variables.” It did not elaborate, other than noting that Kim was still young — he turns 40 on Monday — and was not known to have serious health issues.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, and his daughter inspect a missile at Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, Nov. 18, 2022. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

Ju Ae made her first public appearance in November 2022, when she watched a long-range missile test with her father. She has since accompanied Kim to important state events, such as military parades, sharing the center stage with her father in North Korean media coverage. The state media has often shown the father and daughter hooking arms and touching each other’s faces in loving gestures.

In a New Year’s Eve celebration in Pyongyang on Sunday, Kim was seen on North Korean TV footage hugging and kissing his daughter on the cheek.

North Korea is not a monarchy, but it has had dynastic leadership since the end of World War II. Its top leader is supposedly elected through a ruling Workers’ Party congress. In reality, though, the Kims have run the country like a private family enterprise since its founding. Both Kim’s grandfather and father ruled until they died. Kim took over after his father, Kim Jong Il, died in 2011.

The question of who would inherit the regime — and the country’s fast-growing nuclear arsenal — has fascinated officials and analysts, especially when doubts about Kim’s health have occasionally emerged. If Ju Ae replaces Kim as leader, she would be the first female ruler of the deeply patriarchal and male-dominant North.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center left, with his daughter, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae, attend a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea on Feb. 8, 2023. (AP)

It is notoriously difficult to predict the inner workings of the opaque regime in Pyongyang. Many outside analysts had long speculated that one of Kim Jong Un’s two elder brothers would replace their father — until North Korea revealed Kim as successor following Kim Jong Il’s stroke in 2008.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his wife Ri Sol Ju and their daughter Kim Ju Ae attend a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of North Korea’s army. (KCNA via Reuters)

Ju Ae is believed to be around 10 years old. Analysts said that, given her young age, it was still too early to tell whether she would eventually develop the kind of ruthless leadership qualities that her father demonstrated while establishing his unchallenged authority through a series of bloody purges, including the execution of his uncle and ​the assassination of his half-brother.

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