Lucrezia Ciotti Kim Jong-un 's daughter , Kim Ju-ae, is reportedly increasingly close to becoming North Korea's future leader. According to South Korean intelligence, the young woman has now entered the process of being identified as her father's possible successor.
Kim Ju-ae increasingly close to succession in North Korea
Kim Ju-ae 's age and even her name have never been officially confirmed by Pyongyang. Her first public appearance was in November 2022 , and since then, the North Korean leader 's daughter has been increasingly seen alongside her father at military ceremonies and high-profile political events, including a visit to Beijing that received widespread media coverage.
The language used by state media has also fueled speculation about the succession: Ju-ae has been described as the "favorite daughter" and referred to with the Korean term hyangdo , an expression associated with a "great figure destined to lead" and traditionally reserved for regime leaders or their possible heirs. The issue, however, remains shrouded in the utmost secrecy.
North Korea has been ruled by the Kim family since the regime's inception in 1948 , through a system strongly linked to the cult of the so-called "Mount Paektu lineage" . Kim Jong-un came to power in 2011 , after the death of his father Kim Jong-il , continuing the dynasty started by his grandfather Kim Il-sung.
Kim Jong-un's second child emerges: Kim Ju-ae may have a younger brother or sister.
Kim Ju-ae , daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un , has reportedly entered the designation phase as a possible future leader of North Korea. This is according to South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), which closely monitors developments within the Kim dynasty. According to Seoul's intelligence service, the young woman is currently being treated as an heir and there are indications that she also has a younger brother or sister , whose gender is unknown.
The existence of a possible older brother remains uncertain: in the past, the NIS had hypothesized that Kim Jong-un had three children, but this reconstruction was later called into question. The agency continues its investigations and believes that, even if there were a male eldest, he would not currently be in a position to become the successor , thus maintaining its assessment of Ju-ae's role. Already last February, South Korean intelligence had reported the girl's growing centrality, claiming that she had also begun to express herself on certain issues related to state policy.