Media: Kim Jong Un's 13-year-old daughter appointed to a position in missile administration and is already giving orders
Kyiv • UNN
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's daughter, 13-year-old Ju Ae, has been appointed to a leadership position in the country's Missile Administration. This decision is seen as preparation for her potential succession, despite dynastic traditions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has appointed his young daughter to a leadership position in the country's Missile Administration, which oversees Pyongyang's nuclear forces. This was reported by South Korean media, citing a high-ranking government official, according to UNN, with reference to Newsweek.
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On Sunday, Kim was re-elected as general secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), a position he has held for 15 years.
Kim's daughter, long believed to be named Ju Ae and thought to be around 13 years old, has increasingly accompanied the supreme leader at public events, including missile test sites. This has fueled speculation that she is a favorite to succeed Kim as supreme leader, which would be a historic departure from the dynastic tradition that favored male heirs.
The future direction of the Kim dynasty will help shape security dynamics on the Korean Peninsula, where relations between Seoul and Pyongyang have sharply deteriorated in recent years amid Kim's expanding nuclear and ballistic missile programs and the hardline stance of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Ju Ae has been appointed to a position similar to that of "director" of the missile administration, a high-ranking South Korean government official told the Chosun Daily on Sunday, citing intelligence sources.
This move is intended to prepare her to take command of the Korean People's Army, and she is reportedly already receiving instruction from generals and in some cases even issuing orders, unlike Jang Chang Ha, who has officially held the position of director of the missile administration since late 2023.
This report comes after the strongest assessment to date from South Korea's National Intelligence Service, which states that Ju Ae is the presumed successor. The agency said officials would closely monitor whether she takes a prominent role at the ninth Workers' Party Congress.
This formal congress, which began last Thursday, will determine the agenda for the upcoming five-year period.
The Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, in its resolution on the re-election of Kim Jong Un, stated: "This year's congress fully supported and approved the polite proposal to re-elect Comrade Kim Jong Un as chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea.
He has vigorously led the work to transform the Korean People's Army, which is the pillar of national defense and the guarantee of peace, into an elite and powerful army, thus creating revolutionary armed forces capable of independently confronting any threat of aggression and fully prepared for any form of war."
Analysts warn that the succession picture remains uncertain and could change depending on internal power dynamics, including the influence of Kim Jong Un's influential sister, Yo Jong.
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