Kim Jong Un Chooses His Teenage Daughter as Heir, Seoul Says

South Korea’s spy agency has told lawmakers that Kim Jong Un has chosen his teenage daughter, Kim Ju-ae, as his successor.

The National Intelligence Service said it reached that assessment after weighing multiple indicators, including her increasingly frequent appearances at major state events. 

The agency said it is closely watching whether she attends the upcoming party congress later this month, described as the country’s biggest political gathering, held every five years.

The party congress is typically where North Korea lays out its priorities for the next five years, including foreign policy direction, military planning, and nuclear ambitions.

A lawmaker, Lee Seong-kwen, told reporters that the intelligence service previously described the teenager as being “trained” for succession, but now considers her to have moved into the stage of “successor designation.” 

He said her public profile has expanded across several symbolic moments, including events tied to the Korean People’s Army and a visit to Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, and that officials believe she has begun showing signs of involvement in state matters.

Little is publicly known about Kim Ju-ae’s life. In recent months, she has appeared beside her father at high-profile events, including a reported visit to Beijing in September, presented as her first known trip abroad.

South Korean officials say she is the only child of Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, whose existence has been widely acknowledged in public reporting. The intelligence service believes Kim may have an older son, but there has been no public confirmation or state-media introduction.

Public awareness of the daughter’s existence first surfaced in an unusual way: former NBA player Dennis Rodman referenced her during an interview with The Guardian in 2013.

Kim Ju-ae later appeared on state television in 2022, shown alongside her father during a missile-related inspection. Since then, she has increasingly featured in official coverage, with observers arguing that her presence helps soften the image of a leader often viewed abroad as harsh and uncompromising.

Another lawmaker, Park Sun-won, said her positioning at public events suggests she is being treated like a de facto second-highest figure. He pointed to how she is frequently placed close to Kim Jong Un in official settings, sometimes walking alongside him rather than behind him.

In Pyongyang, state photos are widely seen as deliberate political signals. Analysts note that it is rare for anyone other than the supreme leader to be featured so prominently in official imagery released by the Korean Central News Agency.

Even with the intelligence agency’s assessment, the claim raises major questions. South Korea itself acknowledges that leadership succession inside North Korea is difficult to verify from the outside. And many observers find it striking that a daughter could be designated ahead of an alleged older son in a deeply male-dominated political culture. Still, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, is often cited as proof that women can wield significant influence within the regime.

There is also the timing. Kim Jong Un is still relatively young and appears healthy, so the public elevation of a teenager as heir so early invites speculation about long-term planning and internal power management.