Over the past two years, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) has been monitoring the process of raising his daughter as a potential heir, and now, according to the deputies, Kim Jong Un seems to have moved to more active steps regarding her appointment.
“Given that Kim Ju Ae participates in various events and expresses opinions on important state issues, the NIS believes she is already at the stage of being appointed as the successor,” noted Deputy Lee Sung Kwon after a closed meeting.
The ruling party congresses in North Korea, held every five years, are key events where future plans for the country are discussed, including foreign policy, military strategies, and nuclear programs.
As emphasized by BBC correspondent in Seoul Jake Kwon, Kim Ju Ae is the only publicly known child of Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju.
There is an opinion that Kim has an older son, but neither he nor the official North Korean media have ever mentioned his existence.
As for Kim Ju Ae, the world learned about her birth thanks to American basketball player Dennis Rodman, who, during his visit to North Korea in 2013, shared with the British publication Guardian that he “held little Ju Ae in his arms.”
Photo: Reuters.
