North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to be taking steps to consolidate his daughter's position as heir apparent and there are signs that she is contributing to political matters. South Korean lawmakers said this, citing intelligence data, Reuters reported.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service will closely monitor whether the daughter, believed to be Kim Chu-ae, will attend an upcoming meeting of the ruling Workers' Party and how she will be introduced, including whether she will accept any official title, the lawmakers said.
"In the past, the National Intelligence Service described Kim Chu-ae as "in the process of preparing a successor", but today the expression used was that she is "in the stage of internally appointing a successor", lawmaker Lee Song-kyun said after a closed-door briefing by the agency.
Chu-ae, believed to be in her early teens, has been increasingly featured in North Korean state media, accompanying her father on field trips, including inspections of weapons facilities. projects, amid speculation by analysts that she is being groomed to be the country's fourth-generation leader.
The National Intelligence Service believes that the role she has taken on at public events shows that she has begun to make political contributions and that she is being treated as the de facto second-highest leader, Lee and another lawmaker, Park Sun-won, said.
North Korea announced that the Workers' Party would convene the inaugural session of its ninth congress in late February, an event that analysts say will reveal key policy goals for the coming years in the areas of economy, foreign affairs and defense.
Leader Kim Jong-un is overseeing the development of a large submarine, which is likely capable of carrying up to 10 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and which, given the ship's displacement of 8,700 tons, could be designed to be powered by a nuclear reactor, Park and Lee.
However, it remains unclear whether it will be nuclear-powered or operationally functional as designed, the lawmakers added, citing the intelligence agency's analysis.