Kim Jong Un's daughter drives a tank, and succession talk accelerates

Seoul: It seems like a familiar rite of passage: a dad teaching his daughter to drive. Except in this case, the girl is at the helm of a hulking battle tank, her head sticking out from the driver's hatch, while the father -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un -- reclines on the hull behind her.

The video and photographs of the girl, Kim Ju Ae, who is believed to be around 13, apparently driving the heavily armed vehicle during a military exercise, were published last month by North Korean state media. It was the latest in a series of public appearances that have fueled speculation that she is being groomed to succeed her father.

That theory has gained added credence from South Korea's spy agency, which now believes Ju Ae has officially been chosen to succeed her father, South Korean lawmakers briefed on the matter said Monday. They added that the agency's analysis was based on "credible intelligence" rather than circumstantial context.

In the tank video, Kim Jong Un is shown riding on the hull, smiling and occasionally leaning down to speak to his daughter, who is looking straight ahead.

The images seemed to be "an intent to highlight Ju Ae's military exceptionality" and "dilute skepticism of a female heir," said Park Sun-won, a lawmaker on the South Korean parliamentary intelligence committee.

The existence of Ju Ae, along with her name and age, was first revealed by retired NBA star Dennis Rodman, who visited Kim Jong Un in 2013. She made her public debut at a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in 2022. Just this year, she has been spotted alongside her 42-year-old father at inspections of arms factories and other missile launches, and she has been seen shooting pistols with senior military officials and firing a sniper rifle.

Lim Eul-chul, a scholar of North Korea at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, said that surrounding Ju Ae with such martial imagery at an early age was a calculated strategy to craft the legitimacy she needs to rule over North Korea's deeply patriarchal political system. Since the country's founding in 1948, all of its leaders -- Kim and his father and grandfather -- have been men.

Lim said, "In order for a woman to assume the position of supreme leader, it is very important for them to show that they have the military experience and knowledge that can put them on equal footing with men."

"Building a narrative of courage is very important," he noted.

Though Kim's rule is not expected to end anytime soon, Lim added, the North Korean leader is most likely beginning the process for his daughter while she is still young to dampen potential objections.

"Over the years, Kim Ju Ae will be shown going through many experiences, sharing in the happiness and sadness of the North Korean people," Lim said. "Eventually, any initial resistance to her succession will turn into resigned acceptance."

South Korea's spy agency previously said it believed Kim had up to three children, and that the eldest might be a boy. In recent years, amid Ju Ae's conspicuous ascent, some have speculated that the son has a disability, has otherwise been deemed unfit or might still one day materialize to sideline his sister.

Lim said he was among the skeptics of the theory that a son might suddenly appear.

"To have a son but not reveal him would go against Kim Jong Un's leadership style," he said. "Unlike his father or grandfather, who tried to promote a mysticism around their bloodline, Kim Jong Un has shown himself to be much more forthcoming about his family, whether it's his wife or sister."

Kim's wife, Ri Sol Ju, and his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, have built up their own public profiles in recent years. Kim Yo Jong had herself been floated as a possible heir.

Ju Ae has been portrayed as both a loving daughter and a budding diplomat, meeting Alexander Matsegora, at the time the Russian ambassador to North Korea, in 2024.

At times, Ju Ae has even taken precedence over her father in photographs -- a highly unusual decision that analysts said would have not been cleared without Kim's sign-off.