A quiet shift may be underway insideNorth Korea's ruling family, according toSouth Korea's spy agency. Recently, lawmakers in Seoul weretold by the National Intelligence Servicethat Kim Jong Un has moved his daughter,Kim Ju Ae, into what it described as a 'successor-designate' phase.
However, North Korea has made no formal announcement, but the briefing suggests she is no longer simply being introduced to the public as the daughter of the dictator but she is also being prepared to inherit power.
The development has inevitably raised another question: what becomes of his sister, Kim Yo Jong, once seen as the most plausible heir?
Kim Ju Ae, believed to be around 13, first appeared in state media in November 2022 at the launch of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile.
Since then, her public profile has expanded steadily. She has attended major weapons tests, large-scale military parades and senior-level events. In early 2026, she was shown visiting the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where past leaders lie in state, a symbolic rite in North Korea's dynastic politics.
According to the NIS briefing, she has now appeared at more than 20 high-profile events and has been present at sensitive military briefings. Officials were told she appears to be influencing or at least observing key state discussions.
Her visibility also extends abroad. In 2025, she wasphotographed at a Beijing military display alongside China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin, reinforcing Pyongyang's close ties with both governments.
Diplomats and experts have offered several explanations, though all are constrained by North Korea's secrecy.
One theory, cited in South Korean intelligence assessments, claims thatKim Jong Un's widely discussed health concernsmay be accelerating succession planning. He was himself hurried into prominence after his father's reported stroke in 2008.
Another argument centres on bloodline. The Kim dynasty has ruled for three generations, and maintaining direct descent may be seen as safer than elevating a sibling, even if that sibling is highly trusted.
Source: International Business Times UK
