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North Korea’s Kim Jong Un signals 12-year-old daughter may be successor

Aug 24, 2025, 2:40pm EDT
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Kim Jong Un giving a speech.
KCNA via Reuters

Kim Jong Un appears to be preparing his 12-year-old daughter to take over North Korea after he dies.

Kim has at least two and possibly three children, according to South Korean intelligence, but only one, Ju-ae, has made public appearances. She has no official title, but is said to be a “great person of guidance,” a description that suggests she is being readied to succeed her father.

One image of the pair shows Ju-ae standing in front of her father — “Kim had never before been relegated to a secondary role,” The New York Times noted — while others show her in military situations. If she does succeed Kim, she would be the first female leader of the highly patriarchal country.



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