North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un’s daughter and apparent successor is believed to have a younger sibling, South Korea’s intelligence agency revealed on Thursday, September 10, providing an updated assessment of the ruling family’s lineage and succession dynamics.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) had previously reported that the North Korean leader was believed to have three children, though the exact birth order remained subject to ongoing intelligence verification.
“The National Intelligence Service currently assesses that Kim Ju Ae is being groomed as the successor and understands she has a younger sibling of unknown gender,” the agency stated in an official release.
The NIS noted that while efforts to verify whether Kim Ju Ae has an older brother remain ongoing, intelligence analysts believe that “even if he exists, he is not in a position to become the successor.”
First introduced to the public in 2022 during the test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, Kim Ju Ae has increasingly featured in major state functions.
Her public appearances include high-profile diplomatic engagements such as an official visit to Beijing, as well as attendance at key political assemblies and military parades.
North Korean state media organizations have steadily elevated her public stature, referring to her as “the beloved child” and employing the term hyangdo (“great person of guidance”)—an honorific reserved specifically for top supreme leaders and designated heirs to the ruling dynasty.