North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Announces His Successor: Reports

The development comes ahead of North Korea’s ruling party congress scheduled for later this month-a key political event held once every five years.

Kim Ju Ae has increasingly appeared alongside her father at several high-profile state events in recent months.

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North Korea’s leadership succession appears to be taking shape, with South Korea’s intelligence agency claiming that Kim Jong Un has selected his daughter as his likely successor. On Thursday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) briefed lawmakers that Kim Ju Ae is being assessed as the most probable heir. The agency said its conclusion is based on multiple indicators, including her increasingly frequent appearances at high-profile state events.

Previously, the NIS had described her as being in “succession training”, but it has since revised its evaluation, signalling that preparations may be under way to extend the Kim family’s rule into a fourth generation.

Who Is Kim Ju Ae?

Very little is publicly known about Kim Ju Ae. She is believed to be around 13 years old and was reportedly born in 2013. She first appeared in public in November 2022 during an intercontinental ballistic missile test. Since then, she has frequently accompanied her father to major state events, including weapons tests, military parades, factory inaugurations and, most recently, celebrations marking the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army.

In January 2026, she visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum of North Korea’s former leaders , a move widely seen as symbolically significant in the context of succession. In September 2025, she travelled to Beijing with her father in what was considered her first overseas visit. During the trip, she reportedly met Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended events at the North Korean embassy.

The NIS has indicated that these developments suggest Kim Ju Ae may now be expressing views on policy matters and is being regarded as holding the second-most prominent position in the country.