process

North Korea appears to have entered the stage of designating leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter Ju-ae as the successor, the spy agency was quoted as saying by lawmakers Thursday, marking a stepped-up assessment from its earlier evaluation of her as the “most likely successor.”

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) cited signs of Ju-ae expressing her views on certain state policies as one of the grounds for its latest assessment during a closed-door briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee, Reps. Park Sun-won and Lee Seong-kweun told reporters.

“As Kim Ju-ae has shown her presence at various events, including the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army and her visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, and signs have been detected of her voicing her opinion on certain state policies, the NIS believes she has now entered the stage of being designated as successor,” Lee said.

Lee said the latest assessment marked a step forward from the agency’s previous views when it described Ju-ae as being “trained” to become a successor, to now assessing her as being at the stage of “successor designation.”

The NIS also said it will keep close tabs on whether she attends the North’s key party congress late this month.

In January 2024, the NIS assessed Ju-ae, believed to be born in 2013, as the North’s “most likely successor” in its first evaluation of her possible succession in the reclusive regime.

Earlier in January, Ju-ae paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the Kim family’s mausoleum, for the first time, together with her parents amid growing speculation about her potential succession.

If Ju-ae appears at the party congress or is awarded with an official title at the event, speculation about her being groomed as Kim’s successor will likely gain traction.

Meanwhile, on talks between the United States and North Korea, the NIS noted, “There is a possibility that North Korea could respond to dialogue with the U.S. if certain conditions are met.

“North Korea has expressed dissatisfaction with the U.S. over the South Korea-U.S. fact sheet or the deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula, but it has not ruled out the possibility of talks with the U.S. and has refrained from criticizing President Donald Trump,” the spy agency said.

The NIS also noted that the North has refrained from firing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) apparently to avoid provoking Trump, who is sensitive to such missile launches.

Around 10,000 North Korean combat troops and 1,000 engineer troops are currently deployed in the front-line Kursk region of Russia to support Moscow’s war with Ukraine, the spy agency said, with an estimated 6,000 North Korean soldiers killed or injured.

Some 1,100 combat and engineer troops that returned to the North last December could be dispatched again, it added.

“Despite suffering 6,000 casualties, the North Korean military has achieved the results of acquiring modern combat tactics and data in the battlefield, as well as upgrading its weapons systems with technical assistance from Russia,” the NIS said.

The agency also noted that Pyongyang has established a new department on unmanned aerial vehicles and is accelerating efforts to set up a system capable of developing and mass-producing drones.

As for inter-Korean relations, the NIS said North Korea is continuing to maintain its rhetoric of defining the two Koreas as “two hostile states,” adding that it has recently given guidelines to its officials and overseas missions to avoid engagement with South Korea.

On North Korea’s ties with China, the agency said they have “not gained momentum yet.”

“Although trade between North Korea and China reached US$3 billion last year, the highest in six years, this is only half the level before the imposition of sanctions,” it said.

Meanwhile, the intelligence committee discussed the issue of repatriating two North Korean soldiers held by Ukrainian forces.

The government is making every effort to assist their defection to South Korea as they have expressed their willingness to defect to the South, the NIS said.

President Donald Trump has announced an executive order to allow victims of the Los Angeles wildfires to rebuild without dealing with “unnecessary, dupicative, or obstructive” permitting requirements.

The order, which is likely to be challenged by the city and state, claimed that local governments have failed to adequately process permits and were slowing down residents who are desperate to rebuild in the Palisades and Altadena.

“American families and small businesses affected by the wildfires have been forced to continue living in a nightmare of delay, uncertainty, and bureaucratic malaise as they remain displaced from their homes, often without a source of income, while state and local governments delay or prevent reconstruction by approving only a fraction of the permits needed to rebuild,” Trump wrote in the executive order, which he signed Friday.

The order called on the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to “preempt” state and local permitting authorities.

Instead of going through the usual approval process, residents using federal emergency funds to rebuild would need to self-certify to federal authorities that they have complied with local health and safety standards.

The order comes as the city and county approach 3,000 permits issued for rebuilding. A December review by The Times found that the permitting process in Altadena and Pacific Palisades was moving at a moderate rate compared to other major fires in California. As of Dec. 14, the county had issued rebuilding permits for about 16% of the homes destroyed in the Eaton fire and the city had issued just under 14% for those destroyed in the Palisades fire.

While Mayor Karen Bass did not immediately provide comment, the executive order drew intense pushback from Gov. Gavin Newsom.

A spokesperson for Newsom, Tara Gallegos, called Trump a “clueless idiot” for believing the federal government could issue local rebuilding permits.

“With 1625+ home permits issued, hundreds of homes under construction, and permitting timelines at least 2x faster than before the fires, an executive order to rebuild Mars would do just as useful,” Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote in a post on X, citing the number of permits issued solely by the city of Los Angeles.

Newsom said that the federal government needed to release funding, not take over control of the permitting process. The governor said that what communities really lack is money, not permits.

“Please actually help us. We are begging you,” Newsom wrote.

Instead of descending into the permitting process, Newsom called on the president to send a recovery package to congress to help families rebuild, citing a letter from a bipartisan delegation of California legislators that called for federal funding.

“As the recovery process continues, additional federal support is needed, and our entire delegation looks forward to working cooperatively with your administration to ensure the communities of Southern California receive their fair share of federal disaster assistance,” wrote the California legislators on Jan 7.

Some in the Palisades agreed that money was a bigger issue than permitting.

“When I talk to people it seems to have more to do with their insurance payout or whether they have enough money to complete construction,” said Maryam Zar, a Palisades resident who runs the Palisades Recovery Coalition.

Zar called the executive order “interesting” and said that it was fair of the president to call the recovery pace slow and unacceptable.

MINNEAPOLIS — The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he should not be held in contempt.

In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schiltz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.

“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” the judge wrote.

The order comes a day after President Trump ordered border advisor Tom Homan to take over his administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota following the second death this month of a person at the hands of an immigration law enforcement officer.

Trump said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that he had “great calls” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Monday, mirroring comments he made immediately after the calls.

The White House had tried to blame Democratic leaders for the protests of federal officers conducting immigration raids. But after the killing of Alex Pretti on Saturday and videos suggesting he was not an active threat, the administration tapped Homan to take charge of the Minnesota operation from Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.

Schiltz’s order also follows a federal court hearing Monday on a request by the state and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul for a judge to order a halt to the immigration law enforcement surge. The judge said she would prioritize the ruling but did not give a timeline for a decision.

Schiltz wrote that he recognizes ordering the head of a federal agency to appear personally is extraordinary. “But the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” he said.

“Respondents have continually assured the Court that they recognize their obligation to comply with Court orders, and that they have taken steps to ensure that those orders will be honored going forward,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, though, the violations continue.”

The Associated Press left messages Tuesday with ICE and a DHS Department of Homeland Security spokesperson seeking a response.

The order lists the petitioner by first name and last initials: Juan T.R. It says the court granted a petition on Jan. 14 to provide him with a bond hearing within seven days. On Jan. 23, his lawyers told the court the petitioner was still detained. Court documents show the petitioner is a citizen of Ecuador who came to the United States around 1999.

The order says Schiltz will cancel Lyons’ appearance if the petitioner is released from custody.

Catalini and Karnowski write for the Associated Press. Catalini reported from Trenton, N.J.