South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) says it is now reasonable to view North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter as his probable successor, the agency’s most definitive public statement yet on the girl’s rising political profile and the possibility of a fourth-generation Kim leadership.
North Korean state media has repeatedly described the child as one of Kim’s most cherished offspring. Since late 2022 she has accompanied her father at a number of highly visible events, fueling outside speculation that she is being prepared to take on a central role in the regime.
In a closed-door National Assembly briefing, NIS director Lee Jong-seok told lawmakers the girl could be regarded as Kim’s successor, according to attendees. When asked about potential rivalry from Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong—long viewed as the regime’s second-most powerful figure—Lee said the agency’s “reliable intelligence” indicates she does not hold substantial power.
The NIS has gradually intensified its public assessments. In early 2024 it called her Kim’s likely heir in its first formal judgment about possible grooming, and in February said she appeared close to being officially designated the country’s future leader.
Some analysts challenge that reading, arguing North Korea’s strongly male-centered political culture would resist a woman leader and that Kim, who is in his early 40s, is unlikely to name a successor so soon because doing so could undermine his authority.
The girl is widely reported to be named Kim Ju Ae and to be about 13 years old, though Pyongyang’s state media has not confirmed personal details. The reported name first circulated after former NBA player Dennis Rodman said in 2013 that he had held Kim’s infant daughter during a visit to Pyongyang.
Observers note a series of staged public moments that could be intended to build her profile: appearances driving a tank during military training overseen by Kim, and a joint visit where the pair fired pistols at a light munitions factory. The NIS told lawmakers such displays appear designed both to bolster her military credentials and to counter domestic scepticism about a female successor, according to those present at the briefing.
Since its founding in 1948, North Korea’s leadership has passed between male members of the Kim family: Kim Il Sung, then his son Kim Jong Il, and now Kim Jong Un. Whether the current signals from Pyongyang will produce a formal designation or merely reflect internal messaging to shape perceptions remains a contentious issue among analysts and intelligence agencies.
