<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/north-korea" rel="" target="_blank" title="North Korean"><span>North Korean</span></a><span> dictator </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/kim-jong-un" rel="" target="_blank" title="Kim Jong Un"><span>Kim Jong Un</span></a><span> is expected to name his teenage daughter as the heir to his repressive rule, South Korea's intelligence agency says.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun told reporters that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was closely monitoring whether his daughter, believed to be named Ju Ae and to be about 13 years old, would attend </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/kim-jong-un-north-korea-party-congress/70518244-330d-486d-a780-a01cca266684" rel="" target="_blank" title="the upcoming Workers' Party Congress"><span>the upcoming Workers' Party Congress</span></a><span> later this month.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her presence at the country's biggest political conference, where Kim is expected to announce his five-year plans on everything from foreign policy to the country's nuclear program, would be a sign of her proximity to the hermit nation's decision-making axis.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/price-falls-fail-to-scare-off-investors-as-silver-and-gold-fomo-takes-hold/f500f389-c70e-4251-bcef-37f09510ad43" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Price falls fail to scare off investors as silver and gold FOMO takes hold</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lee told reporters that the NIS had said while Ju Ae had been considered a potential successor for some time, they believed that had developed further.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In the past, (NIS) described Kim Ju Ae as being in the midst of 'successor training.' What was notable today is that they used the term 'successor-designate stage,' a shift that's quite significant," Lee said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Observers and international intelligence had previously been sceptical of the possibility, given North Korea's adherence to a deeply patriarchal culture.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/north-korea-kim-jong-un-expected-to-name-daughter-ju-ae-his-heir/5de3bb90-78a6-4740-9b65-eeee08b0a79a" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ivf-unaffordable-cost-of-living-crisis-exclusive/c6f1b3ac-086e-41d3-83ff-7dea9bbadfff" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Katelyn and Joel's $50,000 fight for something many Aussies get for free</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kim is preceded in his hereditary leadership by two male predecessors, his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But, while the western-educated Kim has not proved the reformer there were dim hopes for when he took power, his reign has shown a willingness to open the door to women in the family.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His sister, Kim Yo Jong, holds a prominent role in the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and has made public comments about policy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/powerball-80-million-jackpot-single-ticket-wins-entire-prize/51a54d51-c3d2-45c7-93c4-482ebf217cc8" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Man misses 'so many' calls after winning entire $80 million Powerball jackpot</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ju Ae first appeared publicly in 2022, when she accompanied her father at a long-range missile test.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Since then, she has been pictured with him at a number of events, including a state visit to China, and a visit with her father to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a mausoleum where the embalmed bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are kept.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Curiously, North Korean state media have never reported the name of Kim's daughter, referring to her only as a "respected" and "most beloved" child.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The only source for her name is US former basketball player Dennis Rodman, who visited North Korea as a celebrity guest when Kim Jong Il was in power, and who spoke to The Guardian in 2013 about holding the dictator's baby granddaughter "Ju Ae" in his arms.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kim is also believed to have an older son and possibly a third child with his wife Ri Sol Ju, according to South Korean intelligence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Workers' Party congress in late February, last held in 2016 and 2021, could provide a stage for Kim to formalise his succession plans, possibly by giving his daughter the party's first secretary post, its second-highest position, although such a decision might not be immediately disclosed to the outside world, Cheong Seong-Chang, a senior analyst at South Korea's Sejong Institute, said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Other analysts question whether she would receive such a high-profile post or any formal party role, given that party rules require members to be at least 18.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>If Kim does use the party congress to cement his daughter as successor, the signs would be more subtle, said Koh Yu-hwan, former president of South Korea's Institute of National Unification.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For example, the party may issue self-praise about how North Korea has survived longer than most other Communist states and credit that to how the country established a "successful inheritance of the revolution," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If you see comments like that, it would be reasonable to think that Ju Ae has been cemented," as heir, Koh said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>With Associated Press.</span></em><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" 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