SEOUL, South Korea – The daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen as her father’s heir apparent, South Korea’s intelligence agency said Thursday, the first such assessment of the pre-teen released to the outside world less than a year ago.
There has been intense outside debate and speculation about her, who is reported to be about 10 years old and named Ju Ae, since she made her first public appearance in November 2022, when she watched a long-range missile test launch with her father.
The girl has since accompanied her father to various major public events, with state media calling her Kim Jong Un’s “most beloved” or “respected” child and producing footage and photos attesting to her rising political standing and closeness with her father.
A senior general knelt down and whispered to him as he applauded while watching a military parade at a VIP observation post in September. She was photographed standing in front of her father at one point during a visit to air force headquarters in November, with both Kims wearing sunglasses and long leather jackets.
In a New Year’s celebration at a packed Pyongyang stadium Sunday, Kim Jong Un kissed him on the cheek and he did the same to his father.
According to South Korea’s intelligence agency, Kim Jong Un’s pre-teen daughter, Kim Ju Ae, is the heir to her father’s position. AP
Most of these scenes are unimaginable in North Korea, where Kim is the subject of a powerful and loyal following who treat him like a god.
South Korea’s main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, said on Thursday that it sees Kim Ju Ae as his father’s successor, citing a thorough analysis of his public activities and the state protocols given to him.
The NIS public affairs office told The Associated Press that it is still considering all possibilities regarding the North’s succession process because Kim is young, has no major health problems, and has at least one other child. Kim turns 40 on Monday.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service based this prediction on an analysis of Kim Ju Ae’s public activities and state protocols assigned to him. AP
Earlier Thursday, lawmaker Youn Kun-Young said the nominee for the post of NIS chief, Cho Tae-yong, had given him that assessment. In a telephone conversation with the AP, Youn, a member of the parliament’s intelligence committee, said Cho’s written response to his questions contained no other details about Kim Ju Ae.
The NIS has a poor record in confirming developments in North Korea, one of the most secretive countries in the world. North Korean state media has yet to make any direct comment on the succession plan, including whether Kim Ju Ae has siblings.
Du Hyeogn Cha, an analyst at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said that while the NIS currently sees a high possibility that Kim Ju Ae is poised to succeed his father, few can predict whether he will eventually become the North’s next leader.
Cha added that Kim Ju Ae does not have the political achievements that he says are important to be officially anointed as the country’s future leader.
Kim Ju Ae’s lack of political achievements is a major factor in appointing the next leader of North Korea. AP
Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea, said Kim Jong Un likely believes his daughter has the capacity and determination to succeed him as leader. He said Kim Jong Un’s obesity seemed so serious that “it wouldn’t be surprising if he collapsed tomorrow.”
“By accompanying his father to big events, it’s like he learned kingship and built a human network at a young age,” Cheong said.
The NIS and officials from other parts of the South Korean government have previously said it was premature to see Kim Ju Ae as his father’s heir, given Kim Jong Un’s relatively young age and the power structure nominated by a man influenced by North Korea’s Confucianism. They said the girl’s repeated appearances were more likely aimed at drumming up public support for the Kim family and his plans to one day hand over power to one of his sons.
Since its founding in 1948, North Korea has been successively ruled by male members of the Kim family. Kim Jong Un inherited power after the death of his father Kim Jong Il in late 2011. Kim Jong Il assumed power after his father and state founder Kim Il Sung died in 1994.
Ju Ae’s name matches what retired NBA star Dennis Rodman called Kim’s baby girl, whom he said he saw and held during a visit to Pyongyang in 2013. The NIS told lawmakers in a private briefing last year that Kim Ju Ae has a brother the older one. and a younger sister whose gender has not been confirmed by the agency.
The NIS said at the time that Kim Ju Ae was never enrolled in a formal education facility and was educated in Pyongyang, according to several lawmakers who attended the briefing.
Cheong, the Sejong Institute analyst, described the NIS intelligence on the brother as inaccurate, although he agreed that Kim Ju Ae had a younger sister.
Revealing a young Kim Ju Ae surprised foreign experts because neither Kim Jong Un nor Kim Jong Il were mentioned in North Korean state media before they were adults.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
