South Korea Investigates Kim Jong Un’s Potential Son Amid Daughter’s Heir Status
South Korea's intelligence agency investigates if Kim Jong Un has a son, while confirming his daughter's strong position as heir to North Korea's leadership.
POLICY WIRE — Seoul, South Korea — South Korea’s National Intelligence Service is working to determine whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has an older son, while reaffirming its assessment that his daughter is the likely heir to the nation’s leadership.
The NIS statement came in response to media reports suggesting that South Korean intelligence authorities have concluded Kim has no son with his wife, Ri Sol Ju. The agency said that even if a son exists, he is not in a position to become the successor to Kim, who took over North Korea’s government after the death of his father in 2011.
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Despite ongoing efforts to verify whether Kim’s daughter has an elder brother, the NIS said that even if such a brother exists, he cannot be his father’s heir under current circumstances. The agency also noted that Kim has a younger child whose gender remains unconfirmed. While the NIS did not elaborate on the daughter’s political standing, previous assessments highlighted her increasing presence at high-profile events and state media coverage.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
