South Korea’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers Thursday that it believes the teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is about to be set aside as the regime’s future leader, the Associated Press reported.
Kim is the third generation of men in his family to rule North Korea.
In a closed-door briefing, NIS officials said they are closely watching whether Kim’s daughter – believed to be named Kim Ju Ae and aged about 13 – appears with him before thousands of delegates at the upcoming Workers’ Party Congress, said lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting.
NORTH KOREA EXECUTED TEENS FOR LISTENING K-POP AND WATCHING ‘SQUID GAME’: REPORT
This photo, taken on January 27, 2026 and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 28, 2026, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) and his daughter Kim Ju Ae (R) inspecting a test firing of the updated large-caliber rocket launcher system at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images)
“In the past, (NIS) described Kim Ju Ae as being in the middle of ‘succession training.’ What was notable today is that they used the term ‘successor-designate phase,’ a shift that is quite significant,” Lee said. exhaust.
In 2023, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers that the North Korean leader and his wife likely had both an older son and a younger third child of unknown gender, according to The Associated Press.
PENTAGON PLANS TO GIVE SOUTH KOREA A PRIMARY ROLE IN TAKING OFF NORTH KOREA’S THREAT UNDER A NEW STRATEGY
This photo, taken on January 27, 2026 and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 28, 2026, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) and his daughter Kim Ju Ae (front) inspecting a test firing of the updated large-caliber rocket launcher system at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images)
North Korea is one of the few nuclear-armed countries in the world, making it a unique threat on the world stage.
A 2025 American Intelligence Community Annual threat analysis stated that “Kim remains committed to increasing North Korea’s nuclear warheads and improving its missile capabilities to threaten homeland and U.S. military forces, civilians, and allies, and to weaken U.S. power in the Asia-Pacific region, as evidenced by the pace of North Korea’s missile flight tests and the regime’s public criticism of its uranium enrichment capabilities.”
THE WORLD’S TOP NUCLEAR AUTHORIZERS HAVE NO ARSENAL LIMITS, HERE ARE THE COUNTRIES WITH ARTS
This photo, taken on December 20, 2025 and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on December 23, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (R) and his daughter Ju Ae (L) inspecting the Milyong Hotel, which was recently completed in the Samjiyon tourist district of Ryanggang Province. (KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Russia increasingly supports North Korea’s nuclear status in return for Pyongyang’s support for Moscow’s war against Ukraine,” the assessment said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
