South Korea: North Korean Leader Prepares His Daughter for Succession

South Korea's intelligence agency has gathered information indicating that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, for succession. On Monday, August 8, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing a Seoul intelligence report, that Kim Jong Un has been training his teenage daughter with the aim of taking over the country's future leadership. North Korean media, which are heavily monitored by the Pyongyang regime, have published reports about her activities without mentioning her political fate. Reports of Kim Ju Ae's activities have been broadcast by North Korea's state television. In this isolated and closed country, where the leadership of Kim Jong Un, as well as that of his father and grandfather, is always praised, the public presence of Kim Jong Un's daughter has recently been in the spotlight. Kim Jong Un, who has been visiting areas affected by severe flooding in East Asia, has not reacted to the reports published by North Korean news agencies. Over the weekend, he visited border areas near China that were damaged by the tropical storm 'Gemi', which caused heavy rains leading to landslides. His teenage daughter was not present during these visits to critical areas. With limited information available about the North Korean leader's family, it is estimated that Kim Ju Ae is around 11 or 12 years old. Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, have three children, with Kim Ju Ae being their middle child. They have a son who is likely 14 years old, but it is unclear whether their youngest child, who is probably 7 years old, is a boy or a girl. Eleven years ago, when American basketball star Dennis Rodman visited North Korea and met with Kim Jong Un, more information about the North Korean leadership family was revealed. Rodman described Kim Jong Un as a 'good father'. Kim Ju Ae has increasingly been seen in public during her father's visits to military facilities and events with soldiers, often holding hands and smiling with him. Published images of the father and daughter, while Kim's wife and two other children are not present, indicate his satisfaction and strong affection for Ju Ae. Until now, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, has been referred to as the second most powerful person in the country. Ms. Yo Jong has recently taken a strong stance against South Korea and expressed outrage over balloons sent by political activists who fled North Korea from South Korea back to their homeland. Kim Jong Un, 40, inherited leadership from his father Kim Jong Il, who apparently died of cancer at the age of 70 in late 2011. Kim Jong Il was also the heir of his father Kim Il Sung, who led the country from 1948 until his death at the age of 82 in 1994 and was referred to as 'Supreme Leader'. Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Un's half-brother who was exiled, died seven years ago at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after being exposed to a nerve agent. Suspects involved in the chemical attack on Kim Jong Nam, who had a controversial life, had returned to North Korea.