It would be a first for the country
South Korea has said that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s successor has now been conclusively identified.
According to the South Korean spy agency, a rising political star inside the communist state is set to follow in the footsteps of Kim, who took over from his father in 2011.
The strongest assessment yet was provided by The National Intelligence Service (NIS) on Monday.
Kim Jong-un is the third generation of his family to take the reins of the Communist regime, and he will be followed by another member of his family.
North Korea will be led by Kim’s “most beloved” or “respected” child, who will become a fourth-generation dictator, it has been revealed.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service director Lee Jong-seok said Kim’s daughter, believed to be 13 and named Kim Ju Ae, could be considered as Kim’s successor.
When asked about possible protests by Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong, who has been long regarded as the North’s No 2 figure, the NIS director responded that she has no substantial powers.
The agency said it believed she was close to being designated as the country’s future leader, in February this year.
Kim Jong-un’s daughter has accompanied her father to numerous high-profile events since late 2022.
This has sparked outside speculation that she’s being groomed as the North’s future leader.
Some observers, saying North Korea’s extremely male-centered society won’t likely embrace a woman leader, disagree with the NIS’ assessment.
North Korea, established in 1948, has been successively ruled by male members of the Kim family.
Kim Jong-un inherited power upon his father Kim Jong Il’s death in late 2011, while Kim Jong Il had taken over power after his father and state founder Kim Il Sung died in 1994.
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