Updated April 6, 2026, 8:12 p.m. ET
SEOUL – South Korea’s spy company now believes North Korean chief Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter has been positioned as his successor, lawmakers mentioned on Monday, citing a current public show of her driving a tank that was possible supposed to dispel any doubts.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) informed lawmakers its evaluation was not primarily based on circumstantial inference however on what it described as “credible intelligence” collected by the company, in response to briefings by ruling and opposition social gathering members after a closed-door parliamentary assembly.
The NIS mentioned the imagery of the daughter driving a tank was supposed to spotlight her supposed army aptitude and dispel doubts over a feminine inheritor, lawmakers mentioned.
North Korea’s state‑run media KCNA final month published photos of Kim and his daughter driving a brand new tank, following earlier pictures displaying her firing a rifle at a capturing vary and utilizing a handgun.
Such scenes are supposed to pay “homage” to Kim’s public army appearances through the early 2010s when he was being ready to succeed his father, ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sun-won mentioned.
The newest evaluation of Kim’s daughter, who is believed to be round 13 and to be named Ju Ae, is a development from earlier evaluation by the spy company, which mentioned she was possible being groomed to succeed her father.
Ju Ae’s repeated presence at protection‑associated occasions is geared toward easing doubts over a feminine successor and accelerating the development of a succession narrative, the lawmakers mentioned, citing the NIS.
Lawmakers have previously said the company believes her more and more outstanding position suggests she is already being handled because the de facto second‑highest determine within the North’s management.
People Power Party lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun mentioned the NIS famous that options Kim’s youthful sister Kim Yo Jong is likely to be sad concerning the give attention to Ju Ae have been misplaced, as Kim Yo Jong doesn’t maintain unbiased energy.
Some North Korea specialists, nonetheless, urged warning in deciphering the photographs as definitive succession indicators.
Hong Min, an analyst on the Korea Institute for National Unification, mentioned Ju Ae’s tank look alone was inadequate to conclude she had been confirmed as Kim’s inheritor, noting she appeared alongside her father reasonably than independently, not like Kim Jong Un’s personal solo army appearances throughout his grooming section.
