Is Kim Jong-un's 12YO Daughter Going To Succeed The North Korean Leader?

North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un's daughter, Kim Ju-ae's frequent public appearance has led to a rumour. The 12-year-old might be the next successor of the regime, according to a spy agency in South Korea. Amidst the rumours surrounding Kim Jong-un's frail health, his daughter might become the first woman to lead North Korea, sources said. 

Analysts have long seen her as Kim Jong-un's likely successor, though some have suggested the North Korean leader has an older son who is being groomed in secret as the isolated and nuclear-armed country's next leader, as per a report in The Hindu.

Some reports suggest that Kim Ju-ae's succession might help to soften North Korea's harsh global image. While the talks of a possible older son and doubts about a woman leading the regime are still on. 

Kim Jong Un's Daughter

Kim Ju-ae’s status has risen since her first public appearance in 2022. She attends troop inspections, sits on leadership podiums and is styled to look mature. She flaunts hairstyles like her mother Ri Sol-ju's, and wears high-heeled shoes. She is also often captured sharing an affectionate father-daughter bond with Kim Jong-un by the state media.

Kim Jong-un revealed his daughter to the world for the first time at a missile test. Kim Jong-un and his daughter were seen in photographs, hand-in-hand, inspecting the launch of the nuclear-armed country’s largest ballistic missile. Kim’s daughter’s existence had never been publicly confirmed before her first appearance.

The state news agency KCNA reported on North Korea test-firing a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). According to a North Korea leadership expert at the US-based Stimson Centre, Michael Madden, the event marked the “first observed occasion where we have seen Kim Jong-un’s daughter at a public event”. Madden added that it was “highly significant” as it represents a “degree of comfort on Kim Jong-un’s part”.

According to reports, in 2023, North Korea compelled people who have the same name as Kim Ju-ae to formally change their name. "Women registered with the resident registration department under the name 'Ju Ae' were summoned yesterday by the Ministry of Security in Jeongju City to the Ministry of Safety to change their names," a report in Radio Free Asiastated, adding that the names had to be changed "within a week."

When The World Met Kim Ju-ae

According to experts, Kim Jong-un is believed to have as many as three children, two girls and a boy. Some observers believe that one of the children was seen in footage of celebrations of a national holiday in 2023. South Korea's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers that it would assess that the child was Jong-un's second child.

In 2013, the retired American basketball star Dennis Rodman claimed that Kim had a baby daughter named Ju Ae. After a trip to North Korea in 2013, Rodman spoke to The Guardian and said he spent time with Kim Jong-un and his family and held the baby.

According to Madden, Ju Ae is estimated to be about 12-13 years of age, and in around 4 to 5 years, she will be preparing to attend university or military service. He said, “This could indicate that she will be educated and trained to go into leadership – it could be preparing her to assume the central leader’s position”.