North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has selected his daughter as his heir, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday.
Little is known about Kim Ju Ae, who in recent months has been pictured beside her father in high-profile events like a visit to Beijing in September - her first known trip abroad.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it took into account her increasingly prominent public presence at official events in making this assessment.
The NIS will monitor whether she attends the North's party congress later this month, its largest political event held once every five years.
On Thursday, lawmaker Lee Seong-kwen told reporters that Ju Ae, previously described by the NIS as being 'trained' to be a successor, is now at the stage of 'successor designation.'
'As Kim Ju Ae has shown her presence at various events, including the founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army and her visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, and signs have been detected of her voicing her opinion on certain state policies, the NIS believes she has now entered the stage of being designated as successor,' Lee said.
Ju Ae is the only known child of Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju. Although the NIS believes Kim Jong Un has an older son, this child has never been publicly acknowledged nor shown in North Korean media.
News of Ju Ae's existence emerged through the unlikely source of American basketball player Dennis Rodman, who revealed in 2013 that he 'held baby Ju Ae' during a visit to the country.
Ju Ae - believed to be 13 - made her first appearance on state television in 2022, inspecting North Korea's latest intercontinental ballistic missile while holding her father's hand.
In recent months, she was shown standing taller than her father and walking beside him, rather than following him. Such symbolic positioning in state media is rare and indicates her rising significance.
Although the South Korean spy agency now regards Ju Ae as the designated heir, it raises questions about the selection of a daughter over an older son in North Korea's patriarchal society.
This decision contradicts traditional gender roles that would typically favor a male successor. Nonetheless, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, currently holds a senior position in the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and has been influential within the regime, setting a precedent for female authority.
The implications of Ju Ae's succession remain unclear. Many North Koreans previously hoped that Kim Jong Un would open their country to the outside world, a hope that has not materialized. Should Ju Ae assume power, she may have the ability to significantly influence North Korea's future.
