Under North Korea’s veil of secrecy, it’s difficult to know anything about its inner workings and what the future will hold for the Kim dynasty after Kim Jong Un. Despite this, experts believe they have identified the successor of North Korea will be a 13-year-old girl named Kim Ju Ae.
Who is Kim Ju Ae?
The current dictator Kim Jong Un lives a secretive life, but he is rumored to have three children: two daughters and a son. Kim Ju Ae is the only child who has been confirmed by an unlikely source when NBA player and friend to Kim, Dennis Rodman revealed her name to the guardian and said he held Kim Ju Ae as a baby. She is presumably the middle child and likely about 12 or 13 years old. She made her first public appearance on Nov. 18, 2022, holding her fathers hand while they observed the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Since then, her presence in the media has been hard to miss. She has been seen by her father’s side at high-profile military parades, weapons tests and she even took her first trip abroad to Beijing, China in Sept. 2025. This trip marked her international debut, but it also symbolized to North Korea’s allies and the world her rising political status.
This is not the first time that questions regarding Kim’s succession have come up. While Kim Ju Ae is not the first speculated successor, Kim Ju Ae’s political identity already differs from that of any other women in the regime. Due to North Korea’s military focus, her proximity to important military events is a sign of her influence, not to mention that Kim’s whole strategy as supreme leader has been to strengthen the nation’s nuclear weapons. This connection to a prominent pillar of North Korean society and the next generation is likely meant to symbolize the longevity of the nation as a nuclear powerhouse. She is also referred to in the media as “the respected child.” This language, which is traditionally “reserved for the supreme leader,” is intentional, and it has led many people to suspect her as heir.
Why a Girl?
North Korea is known as a deeply patriarchal society where women face human rights abuses and are only seen as mothers and caretakers. Recently, though, there has been an influx of women becoming the breadwinners of their homes as they become less interested in marriage and more interested in taking care of themselves. Although women are becoming more frequent in Kim’s regime, a female supreme leader would make waves in North Korean society. Since North Korea’s founding in 1948, the role of supreme leader has been reserved for the men of the Kim family.
With these circumstances in mind, experts suspect that the motive behind introducing his daughter was to modernize his regime with the movement instead of hurting his image by squashing it. Conversely, it could also have something to do with ensuring the security of his role as supreme leader. The theory is that by presenting a young girl as his successor, Kim removes the threat of his position being robbed by a young, ambitious man who can win the respect of the masses easily. Essentially, by introducing his daughter now, he is able to groom the perfect supreme leader who has also spent years gaining respect from the citizens of North Korea without worrying about being overthrown. Additionally, if she does something wrong or if something bad happens, she will take the blame and the whole feminist movement will collapse.
Although his exact motive is unsure, Kim is undoubtedly making a loud, intentional effort to present his daughter as someone of importance and she is very likely to hold a position of political power in the future. However, with the state of the country being so secretive, answers will take time.
