Lawmakers in South Korea reported on Monday that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) believes Kim Jong Un’s daughter could potentially be groomed as her father’s successor. This information came during a press briefing where both ruling and opposition party members were present, as noted by Reuters.
According to what was shared in that closed session, the NIS remarked that its assessment is based on credible information it has gathered. It’s interesting to note that a recent post showcased Kim with his daughter in a tank.
Some analysts pointed out that the image of the girl operating a tank might be aimed at demonstrating her military skills. This could also serve to alleviate skepticism regarding the idea of a female successor. Last month, North Korean state media even published a photo showing the leader alongside his daughter and a tank, which followed an earlier image of the girl handling a firearm.
Currently, she is thought to be around 13 years old and is named Jue. Representative Park Seung-won from the ruling Democratic Party suggested that such imagery might pay tribute to Kim Jong Un’s own military past, specifically when he began to take steps toward succeeding his father.
However, analyst Hong Min from the Korea Institute for National Unification voiced caution regarding these conclusions. He mentioned that just one tank scene doesn’t definitively establish her as the successor, as she was seen with her father rather than independently—a significant distinction from her father’s early appearances.
North Korea continues to be one of the world’s few nuclear-armed nations.
