Daughter of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un ‘likely successor’, South Korea’s spy agency says

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s preteen daughter is receiving lessons to take over the country, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers, in a rapid elevation for the girl who made her first foray into the public eye less than two years ago.

Ju-ae – who has been dubbed the “respected daughter” and “beloved child” by state media – is a candidate to be the next in line in the Kim family that has ruled the state since its founding in the late 1940s, lawmakers said the National Intelligence Service told them in a closed-door session Monday.

MP Lee Seong-kweun said the National Intelligence Service (NIS) has judged that she has been chosen as heir.

“Pyongyang is teaching Kim Ju-ae to be heir apparent, indicating she’s the most likely successor,” Lee told reporters after the agency briefing.

The NIS also told parliamentarians that Kim Jong-un is now “heavily overweight” at “around 140kg”, putting him at “high risk of heart-related illness”.

Kim, who is widely known to be a cigarette smoker, was said to have shown symptoms of high blood pressure and diabetes in his early 30s, Lee said, quoting the NIS.

North Korea also appears to be adjusting Kim Ju-ae’s level of exposure to the public, monitoring how North Koreans react to her role as potential successor, the NIS told MPs.

However, the NIS has not ruled out the possibility that another sibling could emerge as a potential alternative in the succession plan, Park said, given that North Korea has not made an official succession announcement.

Ju-ae first appeared in North Korean state media in November 2022 in a puffy white winter coat, holding her father’s hand to stroll past a nuclear-capable missile designed to obliterate an American city. Since then, she has appeared at weapons