N. Korea appears to be making succession efforts for leader's daughter: spy agency

▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R, front), alongside his daughter Ju-ae (C), rides on a battle tank as he oversees a coordinated offensive tactical drill of infantrymen's and tankmen's subunits at the Pyongyang Training Base No. 60 under the Capital City Defense Corps of the Korean People's Army on March 19, 2026, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

spy agency-N Korea

N. Korea appears to be making succession efforts for leader's daughter: spy agency

By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, April 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to be speeding up efforts to cast North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter Ju-ae as his successor, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers Monday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) made the assessment during a closed-door briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee, according to Reps. Park Sun-won of the Democratic Party and Lee Seong-kweun of the People Power Party.

The NIS assessed that Ju-ae's recent state media appearances in defense-related reports appear to be part of efforts to "dilute" skepticism surrounding a female successor and "accelerate" the succession narrative," they said.

Last month, the North's state media reported that Kim oversaw a drill featuring new battle tanks, with his daughter seen driving one.

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