South Korea

Little is known about Kim’s daughter, Ju Ae, who made her first public appearance in 2022 but appears set to be her father’s successor.

South Korea’s spy agency believes that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing to designate his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his successor, increasing the agency’s earlier assessment of the teenager being the “most likely successor”.

The National Intelligence Service in Seoul informed legislators of the news during a closed-door briefing on Thursday, according to South Korea’s official Yonhap News Agency. Their intelligence agency’s findings were later shared with the media by South Korean politicians Park Seon-won and Lee Seong-gwon.

“Kim Ju Ae’s presence continues to be highlighted at events such as the recent Armed Forces Day ceremony and her visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, and there are even signs that she is expressing opinions on some policies,” Lee told reporters, according to Yonhap.

“We believe that she has now entered the succession selection stage,” Lee said.

Kumsusan Palace of the Sun is considered one of the most important places in North Korea as the final resting place of the country’s Great Leader Kim Il Sung and his son Dear Leader Kim Jong Il – the current Kim’s grandfather and father, and Ju Ae’s great-grandfather and grandfather.

Yonhap reports that if Ju Ae attends or receives a title at the ruling Workers’ Party congress later this month, a key political event that analysts believe will see major policy goals unveiled, speculation about her path to succession will “gain traction”.

Very little is known about Kim’s daughter, including her official age, though she is believed to still be in her teens.

Her first public appearance was in 2022 at the test launch of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile, and she has been photographed alongside her father at numerous events across the country since then.

In January, she was photographed by Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency attending the test launch of a large-calibre multiple-rocket launch system alongside her father.

She also travelled by armour-plated train with her father to Beijing in September to attend a military parade marking 80 years since Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II, where she would have mixed with both Chinese and Russian leaders.

Seoul’s spy agency also said that Kim is currently directing the development of a large submarine ‌that is likely capable of carrying up to 10 submarine-launched ballistic missiles and which may be designed to be powered by a ‌nuclear ‌reactor, according to the politicians Park and Lee.

Kim Keon Hee’s husband, Yoon Suk Yeol, is potentially facing the death penalty over his role in declaring martial law in 2024 while president.

A South Korean court has sentenced former First Lady Kim Keon Hee to one year and eight months in prison after finding her guilty of accepting bribes from the Unification Church, according to South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency.

The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday cleared Kim, the wife of disgraced ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol, of additional charges of stock price manipulation and violating the political funds act.

Kim was accused of receiving bribes and lavish gifts from businesses and politicians, as well as the Unification Church, totalling at least $200,000.

The prosecution team had also indicted Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, now on ‌trial, after the religious group was suspected of giving Kim valuables, including two Chanel handbags and a diamond necklace, as part ‌of its efforts to win influence with the president’s wife.

Prosecutors in December said Kim had “stood above the law” and colluded with the religious sect to undermine “the constitutionally mandated separation of religion and state”.

Prosecutor Min Joong-ki also said South Korea’s institutions were “severely undermined by abuses of power” committed by Kim.

The former first lady had denied all the charges, claiming the allegations against her were “deeply unjust” in her final testimony last month.

But she has also apologised for “causing trouble despite being a person of no importance”.

“When I consider my role and the responsibilities entrusted to me, it seems clear that I have made many mistakes,” she said in December.

Kim’s husband, the country’s former President Yoon, was ousted from office last year and has been sentenced to five years in prison for actions related to his short and disastrous declaration of martial law in December 2024.

Yoon could still be facing the death penalty in a separate case.

In 2023, hidden camera footage appeared to show Kim accepting a $2,200 luxury handbag in what was later dubbed the “Dior bag scandal”, further dragging down then-President Yoon’s already dismal approval ratings.

The scandal contributed to a stinging defeat for Yoon’s party in general elections in April 2024, as it failed to win back a parliamentary majority.

Yoon vetoed three opposition-backed bills to investigate allegations against Kim, including the Dior bag case, with the last veto in November 2024.

A week later, he declared martial law.

Kim’s sentencing comes days after former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was sentenced to 23 years in prison – eight years longer than prosecutors demanded – for aiding and abetting Yoon’s suspension of civilian rule.