According to a report by Reuters, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) has suggested that Kim Jong Un’s daughter is being groomed to succeed him as the leader of North Korea. This information was relayed to lawmakers by the NIS, which based its conclusions on what it described as “credible intelligence” gathered through its operations.
The NIS shared these insights during a confidential parliamentary session with both ruling and opposition party members, as reported by Reuters. This analysis follows the recent release of video footage showing Kim Jong Un and his daughter riding on a tank, which was widely circulated last month.
A photograph provided by the North Korean government captures Kim Jong Un, his daughter—believed to be named Kim Ju Ae—and military personnel aboard a tank at a training facility in North Korea on March 19, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
The South Korean intelligence agency suggested that this imagery was a deliberate effort to highlight the daughter’s military skills, aiming to dispel skepticism about the possibility of a female successor. This sentiment was echoed by lawmakers briefed on the situation, according to the report.
North Korea’s state-controlled media, KCNA, had previously released images of Kim Jong Un and his daughter interacting with a tank, following earlier photographs showing her handling firearms, as noted by Reuters.
North Korean state-run media KCNA published photos of the North Korean leader and his daughter with a tank last month, following prior images of the girl utilizing firearms, Reuters reported.
The daughter is thought to be about 13 years old and named Ju Ae.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, center, tries out a new pistol at a factory producing pistols and other light arms at an undisclosed place in North Korea Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
The outlet reported that ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sun-won indicated that the scenes are meant to pay “homage” to the North Korean leader’s military appearances years ago when he was being set up to succeed his father as regime leader.
Korea Institute for National Unification analyst Hong Min said the tank scene is not enough to determine that she has been established as her father’s successor, pointing out that she appeared with her father rather than independently, unlike her father’s independent military appearances as he was being groomed to take the helm.
This picture taken on December 20, 2025, and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on Dec. 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)
North Korea is one of the world’s only nuclear-armed nations.
