The intelligence agency of South Korea stated this Thursday that the teenage daughter of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, is reportedly close to being officially designated as his successor, which would pave the way for a fourth generation of the Kim dynasty at the head of the country.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) communicated its assessment during a closed-door briefing with lawmakers, at a time when North Korea is preparing to hold the Workers' Party congress at the end of February, the regime's largest political event.
At that forum, Kim Jong Un could present his main strategic guidelines for the next five years and strengthen his control over power.
According to lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun after the meeting, the NIS is closely watching whether the leader's daughter, identified by Seoul as Kim Ju Ae, about 13 years old, appears alongside her father before thousands of delegates during the congress. Her presence in that setting would be interpreted as a key sign that her designation as heir is imminent.
Kim Ju Ae appeared in public for the first time in November 2022, during a long-range missile test. Since then, she has accompanied her father at events of growing importance, including weapons tests, military parades, and visits to industrial facilities. Last September, she even traveled with him to Beijing to take part in a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Speculation about her political future intensified last month, when she took part with her parents in a New Year visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, the mausoleum where her grandfather and great-grandfather, former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, lie embalmed. Analysts believe that the symbolism of the place, the center of dynastic worship, reinforces the perception that she is being groomed as heir.
