North Korea’s most cherished heir: what the latest party congress reveals about Kim Jong-un’s succession plans
When North Korea’s ruling party convened a high-level gathering earlier this month, delegates boasted about ever-advancing nuclear capabilities and, quite unexpectedly, Kim Jong-un hinted that the United States and his country might reach a détente if Washington formally recognizes North Korea as a legitimate nuclear power.
For many observers watching North Korea, the Workers’ Party Congress—an event that happens only once every five years and unfolds over multiple days—offered a rare chance to debate who might lead the country in the future.
The prevailing view has long been that Kim has already chosen his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, to succeed him as the fourth generation to helm the dynasty that has ruled the North with iron discipline since 1948.
Yet dissenting voices have grown louder recently among experts who argue that North Korea’s entrenched gender politics could still block Kim Ju-ae’s path to power.
“The most immediate and insurmountable obstacle for Kim Ju-ae is the deeply rooted patriarchy in North Korea,” wrote Mitch Shin, who covers the Korean peninsula for The Diplomat, this month, noting that the country operates more like a Neo-Confucian monarchy than a socialist state. He added that the ranks of aging generals would be unlikely to accept a female supreme leader. “For these men, many in their 60s and 70s, swearing absolute loyalty to a young woman isn’t merely a cultural shift; it’s a structural anomaly that challenges the regime’s internal logic.”
Some analysts propose that Kim may be using his daughter as a “shield” to obscure the true successor—Kim Jong-un’s long-rumored eldest child—so that a son could be shielded from international scrutiny.
Other experts contend that North Korea’s patriarchy will eventually bow to the non-negotiable rule that a successor must be a direct descendant of the Mount Paektu bloodline, a symbolically sacred reference the regime leverages to legitimize the Kim dynasty.
Shreyas Reddy, NK News correspondent, cast doubt on the idea that Kim Ju-ae’s future role is a guaranteed outcome, describing her visibility as more performative than political. “State media’s portrayal of Kim’s affection for his daughter aligns with a broader effort to present him as a loving ‘father’ figure to the nation,” Reddy observed.
For now, the prudent approach seems to be watching and waiting rather than declaring a successor before the regime reveals its plans.
With no official statements confirming Kim Ju-ae’s status, most commentary about her future relies on her public profile, proximity to her father, and even what she wears.
Despite her growing prominence, North Korean state media has never named her; she’s referred to only as the leader’s “respected” or “most beloved” child. Debates also continue over how to pronounce her given name.
Much of the momentum around Kim Ju-ae’s assumed ascension has stemmed from South Korea’s national intelligence service, which recently claimed that Kim Jong-un was close to naming his daughter as the future leader.
Even if that proves true someday, scholars like Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha University in Seoul say Kim Ju-ae’s current role is primarily that of a daughter. “She’s probably not old enough yet to participate in the congress with an official party title,” he noted.
There is nothing in North Korea’s tone or actions to suggest an abrupt, world-shaking ascent like Kim Jong-un’s own rise. Lee Sung-Yoon of the Sejong Institute in Seoul argues that Kim Jong-un has already made it clear he is grooming his teenage daughter as his successor, pointing to her presence at numerous official events alongside her father.
His choice to place her at the center of the front row during a New Year’s visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun—a revered site and mausoleum for the Kim dynasty—should “remove any doubt” about her being positioned as the heir, according to Lee.
In 2023, South Korean intelligence reportedly told lawmakers that Kim and his wife may have an older son and a younger third child, though the gender of the third child remains unknown.
“Kim Jong-un has not disclosed that he has a son to any foreign interlocutors,” Lee noted, adding that claims of a son were based on what he described as flimsy intelligence about boys’ toys and nappies found at the Pyongyang residence years earlier.
Since Kim Ju-ae’s first public appearance during a long-range missile test in November 2022, she has been seen at an increasing number of official events—military parades, factory openings, and even family trips, including a recent coastal resort visit and a Beijing trip for a high-profile summit with Xi Jinping.
Her rising profile has fed speculation that Kim Jong-un intends to bolster her political weight as a symbolic figure. The just-concluded congress ended without public signs of a formal role for the teenager, though she did accompany her father at a Pyongyang military parade marking the congress’s end.
Analyst Lim Eul-chul suggested the leather jackets worn by father and daughter were more than a fashion statement. “In North Korea’s political symbolism, that look carries weight—it signals the leader as the ultimate guarantor of national security and future prosperity. When that same symbolic attire is worn by his young daughter, it’s hard to view it as accidental,” he said.
