{"id":2199,"date":"2026-02-12T17:53:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=2199"},"modified":"2026-02-12T17:53:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:53:19","slug":"kim-jong-un-set-to-name-daughter-as-next-leader-of-north-korea-spy-agency-says-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=2199","title":{"rendered":"Kim Jong Un set to name daughter as next leader of North Korea, spy agency says | World News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A teenage girl will become the next leader of North Korea, with Kim Jong Un set to confirm his daughter as successor, spy chiefs believe.<\/p>\n

The announcement could come at party congress, the country’s largest political gathering, which is set to be held later this month after a five-year hiatus.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the conference, Mr Kim<\/a><\/strong> seems to be taking steps to consolidate his daughter<\/a><\/strong>‘s position as successor, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency (NIS).<\/p>\n

Believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, the girl has become increasingly prominent in North Korean<\/a><\/strong> propaganda and even seems to have an input on policy, the NIS said.<\/p>\n

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\n Kim Jong Un and Kim Ju Ae attend the launching ceremony of a warship. Pic: Reuters
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Intelligence officials briefed members of the South Korean<\/a><\/strong> parliament on the child’s evolving status in a closed-door session this week.<\/p>\n

Lee Seong-kweun of the People Power Party said: “In the past, the NIS described Kim Ju Ae as being ‘in study as successor’.<\/p>\n

“But today the expression used was that she ‘was in the stage of being internally appointed successor’.”<\/p>\n

Park Sun-won of the Democratic Party said the girl was already being treated as the second-in-command, pointing to her public profile.<\/p>\n

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\n Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova with Kim Jong Un and Kim Ju Ae in Pyongyang. Pic: Reuters
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\n Kim Jong Un next to Kim Ju Ae visit the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to mark the New Year. Pic: Reuters
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He said the NIS would closely monitor whether she attends this month’s congress, where the regime will set out its major policy goals for the coming years.<\/p>\n

Kim Ju Ae first stepped on to the public stage when she attended a missile launch with her father in November 2022.<\/p>\n

South Korean officials were initially sceptical about her status as successor, given North Korea’s conservative, patriarchal culture.<\/p>\n

But recent appearances have forced a reassessment, with the girl accompanying her father to a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last year.<\/p>\n

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\n Kim Ju-ae, circled, joining her father on his visit to China last year. Pic: Reuters
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She was also photographed with her parents at Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the embalmed bodies of her grandfather and great-grandfather are displayed.<\/p>\n

Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute, said the girl could be appointed first secretary of the ruling party at congress.<\/p>\n

Read more:
Who is the North Korean girl who may take over as leader?<\/a><\/strong>
North Korea ‘executes schoolkids for watching Squid Game’<\/a>
Ukrainian children ‘sent to abusive camp in North Korea’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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