Kim’s daughter is reportedly close to being named the future leader of North Korea

South Korea’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, informed lawmakers on Thursday that it thinks the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is about to be sidelined as the future leader of the regime, the Associated Press reported.

Kim is the third generation of men in his family to rule North Korea.

In a closed-door briefing, NIS officials said they are keeping a close eye on whether Kim’s daughter – believed to be Kim Ju Ae and about 13 years old – appears with him in front of thousands of delegates at the upcoming Workers’ Party Congress, said lawyer Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting.

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“In the past, (NIS) described Kim Ju Ae as being in ‘next training.’ “What was notable today was that they used the term ‘next stage,’ which is a very important change,” Lee noted, according to the outlet.

In 2023, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers that the North Korean leader and his wife may have an older son and a younger, third child of unknown gender, according to the Associated Press.

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This photo taken on Jan. 27, 2026, and was released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Jan. 28, 2026, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) and his daughter Kim Ju Ae (front) test firing a new large-scale rocket launcher system at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA VIA KNS / AFP via Getty Images)

North Korea is one of the few countries in the world armed with nuclear weapons, making it a unique threat to the world.

The 2025 US Intelligence Community Threat Assessment stated that “Kim remains committed to expanding North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and developing its missile capabilities to threaten the Homeland and US forces, citizens, and allies, and to weaken US power in the Asia-Pacific region, as evidenced by the pace of North Korea’s missile tests in developing civilian capabilities.”

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This photo was taken on December 20, 2025, and was released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on Dec. 23, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (R) and his daughter Ju Ae (L) inspecting the newly completed Milyong Hotel in the Samjiyon tourist district of Ryang. (KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images)

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“Russia is increasingly supporting the denuclearization of North Korea in order to gain Pyongyang’s support in Moscow’s war with Ukraine,” the study noted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report