Kim Ju Ae’s rising profile fuels succession talk, but North Korea has yet to begin formal succession steps, experts say

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae at a New Year’s Eve concert in Pyongyang | Image: KCNA (Jan. 1, 2026)

South Korean experts assessed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter is showing early signs of being trained as a successor, but noted that the country has yet to begin the formal steps required for a power transition.

The assessment came during a seminar hosted by the Seoul-based think tank East Asia Institute (EAI) Monday, where analysts examined whether daughter Kim Ju Ae — who has appeared more than 40 times in state media since her debut in Nov. 2022 — can be considered a credible heir to the generational regime. (Continue reading with an NK News membership) ■ 

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