Daughter of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un ‘likely successor’, South Korea’s spy agency says

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s preteen daughter is receiving lessons to take over the country, South Korea’s spy agency told legislators, in a rapid elevation for the girl who made her first foray into the public eye less than two years ago.

Ju-ae – who has been dubbed the “respected daughter” and “beloved child” by state media – is a candidate to be the next in line in the Kim family that has ruled the state since its founding in the late 1940s, lawmakers said the National Intelligence Service told them in a closed-door session Monday.

MP Lee Seong-kweun said the National Intelligence Service (NIS) has judged that she has been chosen as heir.

“Pyongyang is teaching Kim Ju-ae to be his apparent, indicating she’s the most likely successor,” Lee told reporters after the agency briefing.

The NIS also told parliamentarians that Kim Jong-un is now “heavily overweight” at “around 140kg”, putting him at “high risk of heart-related illness”.

Kim, who is widely known to be a cigarette smoker, was said to have shown symptoms of high blood pressure and diabetes in his early 30s, Lee said, quoting the NIS.

North Korea also appears to be adjusting Kim Ju-ae’s level of exposure to the public, monitoring how North Koreans react to her role as potential successor, the NIS told MPs.

However, the NIS has not ruled out the possibility that another sibling could emerge as a potential alternative in the succession plan, Park said, given that North Korea has not made an official succession announcement.

Ju-ae first appeared in North Korean state media in November 2022 in a puffy white winter coat, holding her father’s hand to stroll past a nuclear-capable missile designed to obliterate an American city. Since then, she has appeared at weapons tests, state functions and even at sporting events, always with her father.

The role of Kim’s daughter in state propaganda appears to be showing the public there is another generation waiting to run the family dynasty, and it will rely on nuclear weapons for its survival.

South Korea’s spy agency has pegged her age at about 11 and believes her to be the second of three children between Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju. One of Ju-ae’s biggest moments was in February 2023 when she joined her mother and father at a banquet honoring the military and was placed front and center in a photo with some of the most powerful members of the armed forces.

No other child of a North Korean leader had ever been shown in such a fashion at such an early age, and her appearance broke the tradition of keeping the leader’s children out of the public eye until they were a part of the state’s apparatus.

Still, there are questions about whether Kim Jong-un has decided that his daughter will take over. North Korea’s other leaders – state found Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il – installed their adult sons in the state apparatus to train them as successors, giving them official posts as they waited in the wings, which added to their stature. The daughter has yet to be formally identified by name in official media reports.

Given Kim Jong-un’s relatively young age of 40, he could be in power for decades. Still, he’s overweight and a heavy smoker who has battled health problems, so succession is a subject of concern.

South Korea’s spy agency also said they were closely monitoring Kim Jong-un’s health condition as he appeared extremely obese, estimated to weigh up to 140 kilograms, the lawmakers said.

The parliament members addressed reporters and read notes from the meeting. The NIS usually does not comment on what its officials told members of parliament during the sessions of the intelligence committee.