South Korean officials now think Kim Jong-un’s daughter is his heir apparent
Kim Jong-un has dropped some of the strongest hints yet about who will be his successor as hereditary ruler of North Korea, after a year marked by more than a dozen public appearances by his daughter Kim Ju-ae.
Leadership of the hermit kingdom has so far exclusively been passed down the male side of the Kim dynasty, with Kim Jong-un having been groomed for many years to succeed his father Kim Jong-il, who was the eldest son of the country’s founder Kim Il-sung.
Yet, Kim Jong-un’s first-born child, believed by South Korean analysts to be a son aged around 13, has never been acknowledged or named in public, while the North Korean leader introduced his daughter Ju-ae, aged around 10, to the public at a missile launch in
