North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has selected his daughter as his heir, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday.

Kim Ju Ae - who is believed to be 13 - has in recent months been pictured beside her father in high-profile events like a visit to Beijing in September, her first known trip abroad.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it took a “range of circumstances” into account including her increasingly prominent public presence at official events" in making this assessment.

  • Ugandan Airways@lemmy.zip
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    9 hours ago

    I don’t know. Heart attacks are a real thing. Your 40s get weird with health stuff. I agree that I don’t think he is going to croak any day now, but it does seem like they are preparing for him to be gone. His father only lived to 60.

    • red_green_black@slrpnk.net
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      9 hours ago

      I don’t dispute in having a successor prepared for when the time comes. It’s just that for a monarchy it’s good policy to have an heir ready in the wings, otherwise you get a lovely power struggle.

      In this case it would be between factions of the ruling elite that are die hard cultists and factions that didn’t drink the kool-aid and just want to stay in power.

      Normally a population opposition would also be in the mix but unlike Venezuela and Iran NK seems to have taken care of that