South Korean spy agency NIS predicts that Kim Ju Ae will likely replace her father Kim Jong Un as leader of North Korea; however, little information exists regarding this potential successor and it remains speculated upon due to recent public appearances by her.
Ju Ae was identified as Kim’s child after Dennis Rodman accidentally revealed it while visiting Pyongyang and making reference to “holding Kim’s baby daughter”.
Kim Jong Il’s daughter Ju Ae was first sighted publicly on November 20, 2022 as part of Ri Sol Ju’s appearance during a missile launch test at Pyongyang International Airport. North Korean state-run media claims she is one of Kim’s “loved and respected children”.
South Korean authorities, on the other hand, have taken care to avoid commenting on her position within Pyongyang’s opaque regime.
On Thursday, Youn Kun Young of the intelligence committee in the National Assembly released a public assessment from South Korea’s principal spy agency – National Intelligence Agency – outlining that Kim Ju Ae is likely the next South Korean president and successor. This assessment came within written responses provided to Youn by National Intelligence Agency officials as responses for Youn from Youn Kun Young at National Assembly Intelligence committee member Youn.
The agency did warn that many variables were involved in North Korea’s plan for succession, without going into detail about them; but noted that Kim is still relatively young (he will turn 40 on Monday), without known serious health problems that might preclude his being leader of his nation.
Kim could be seen cuddling tightly to his daughter and kissing her on the cheek during a New Year’s Eve party held in Pyongyang on Sunday night, according to North Korean television footage of this celebration.
National Intelligence Service of South Korea, or NIS for short, announced Kim Ju-ae as her father’s most likely successor after conducting a thorough analysis of her public actions. They added that their investigation remains open because Kim Ju-ae is young, healthy and has atleast one other child besides herself; analysts, such as Cheong Seong however, indicated Kim could collapse any day now due to severe weight issues that are plaguing South Korean society at large.
