Overview
- South Korea’s National Intelligence Service briefed lawmakers that Kim Ju Ae has moved from successor training to a successor-designate stage.
- The assessment cites her rising prominence at state events, exalted honorifics in propaganda, a visit to the Kumsusan mausoleum, and last year’s trip to Beijing.
- The agency will watch whether she appears at the Workers’ Party congress and what protocol she receives, with analysts noting a possible but unconfirmed senior party title.
- North Korea has not officially confirmed her name or age, though she is widely believed to be about 13 and identified as Kim Ju Ae through outside accounts and intelligence.
- Lawmakers say there are signs she has begun offering input on policy, reinforcing expectations of a planned fourth-generation handover within the Kim family.