Cho Tae-yong, a candidate for director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), said Thursday that he considers the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to be his “most likely successor,” although he acknowledged that the agency is leaving open the possibility of succession in the neighboring country. reports EFE.

“From an analysis of her public activities and the level of respect shown to her in the North since her first public appearance, Kim Joo-ae (presumably maiden name – no) seems the most likely successor.” Cho said during a parliamentary hearing before the committee responsible for ratifying his appointment.

Even so, Cho said the NIS is leaving all possibilities open regarding the succession as the current leader is still young (he is believed to be around 41 years old) and does not appear to have any major health problems, and there are many other variables, including the existence of several children of Kim Jong Un.

It is the first time that a representative of South Korea’s intelligence service, which until now has considered it premature to make such analyses, has made such a statement about the Pyongyang leader’s daughter, who is believed to be about 11 years old. and which first appeared publicly in November 2022.

Various authorities in South Korea have emphasized the fact that the girl has mostly appeared at military events, from parades to missile launches, although the theory that Kim Jong-un would choose to appear with his daughter has also been mentioned several times simply because to strengthen his image as a father. worried about the future of the country.

It is not known how many children Kim Jong Un has

It was also said that, given North Korea’s strong patriarchal tradition, the girl’s brother could be a possible future heir, although the number of children Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen and their gender is not known for sure.

In fact, Cho himself said on Thursday that as far as he knew, Kim had another child whose gender was unknown, contradicting previous NIS analyzes that suggested the North Korean leader had three children, the eldest of whom would be a boy.

The extreme opacity surrounding the country and the Kim regime makes it impossible to get more detailed information about what is happening in North Korea, and even more so in the Pyongyang leader’s family.

Kim Jong-un became the third member of his family to come to power after his father, Kim Jong-il, who died in 2011, and who, in turn, succeeded his father, Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of the current leader and founder of the “Kim dynasty.” , who died in 1994 after 36 years of rule. (Agerpress)