• Source:JND

Kim Jong Un’s Successor: There is a strong buzz that the teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is close to being designated as the country's future leader as he moves to extend the family dynasty to a fourth generation. South Korea’s intelligence agency added weight to the succession talks, saying it is now “fair to view” Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter as his heir.

South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) director Lee Jong-seok, while addressing a closed-door meeting at South Korea’s National Assembly, observed the successor of the North Korean dictator.

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Who Is Kim Jong Un’s Saughter?

Kim Ju Ae, born around 2012 or 2013, is the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol-ju. She is the only one of Kim Jong Un’s children to appear publicly. She first made a public appearance in November 2022 at a missile launch. Kim Ju Ae has been spotted with her father on several occasions, such as military parades, weapons tests, factory visits, and other state events. Her presence at the government events along with her father sparked speculations that she could replace him in future. Despite her increased visibility in propaganda, North Korean state media have never published the name of Kim Jong Un's daughter, only referring to her as his "respected" or "most beloved" child.

kim jong un daughter

She travelled with him to Beijing last September for Kim's first summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in six years on the sidelines of a World War II event.

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Speculation about her political future intensified last month when she joined her parents on a New Year's Day visit to Pyongyang's Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a sacred family mausoleum displaying the embalmed bodies of her late grandfather and great-grandfather, the country's first- and second-generation leaders. Some experts saw the visit as the clearest sign yet that she's positioned to be the heir to her 42-year-old father.

The belief that she is named Kim Ju Ae is based on an account by former NBA star Dennis Rodman, in which he recalled holding Kim Jong Un's baby daughter during a trip to Pyongyang in 2013. South Korean intelligence officials believe she was born sometime that year. In 2023, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers that Kim Jong Un and his wife also likely have an older son and a younger third child whose gender is unknown.

Since its foundation in 1948, North Korea has been ruled by male members of the Kim family, beginning with the country's founder Kim Il Sung and followed by his son, Kim Jong Il.

Kim Jong Un was just 26 when he was officially named heir during a 2010 party conference, two years after Kim Jong Il suffered a debilitating stroke. Following his father's death in December 2011, he was abruptly thrust into the throne with relatively little preparation.  

(With AP Inputs)


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