Unlikely that Kim's daughter groomed as successor, says South Korea

South Korea on February 15 said that it’s still premature to determine whether the recently unveiled daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is being groomed as her father’s successor.

Speculation about the status of Kim’s daughter, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and aged about 10, has further intensified since she recently took center stage at a massive military parade in Pyongyang and appeared in soon-to-be-released postal stamps — both events with her all-powerful father, AP reports.

During a parliamentary committee meeting in Seoul, Unification Minister Kwon Youngse, South Korea’s top official on North Korea, questioned a belief that she’s being primed as the North’s next leader. Kwon cited Kim Jong Un’s relatively young age – Kim turned 39 last month – and North Korea’s male-dominated power hierarchy.

South Korean media have speculated Kim Jong Un also has a son who is older than Kim Ju Ae and a third child, likely a daughter. But Kwon said only Kim Ju Ae is her father’s officially confirmed child.

North Korea disclosed Kim Ju Ae in November by announcing she watched an intercontinental ballistic missile test with her father. She’s since made four other public appearances, including last week’s military parade.

State media have called her Kim’s “most beloved” or “respected” child and published a slew of photos and video showing her closeness with her father.

Since its foundation in 1948, North Korea has been successively ruled by male members of the Kim family. Outside studies show only a fraction of top North Korean officials are women, including Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, and Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui. Before Kim Jong Un took power in late 2011, his father Kim Jong Il governed for 17 years, and before him, his father and state founder, Kim Il Sung, ruled for 46 years.

“It’s too soon to assume that (Kim Ju Ae) will be his heir because the son has always succeeded the throne in North Korea,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, D.C. “So, we don’t yet know if Kim Jong Un is willing to break tradition regarding the gender of his successor or if she will play a key role to support whoever Kim appoints.”