S. Korean intelligence reveals new details about Kim Jong-un’s daughter
By Ines Shin
New details about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s three children have emerged.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) held a closed-door meeting with lawmakers on Tuesday to discuss information regarding Kim’s family, including his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who has made recent appearances to the public.
According to lawmakers Youn Kun-young and Yoo Sang-bum, who were present during the closed-door meeting, Kim’s three children include Kim Ju-ae, her older brother and one other sibling.
“Kim Ju-ae appears to be homeschooled in Pyongyang and her hobbies include horseback riding, swimming, and skiing,” Yoo said. “In particular, there is information that Kim Jong-un is quite satisfied with her excellent horseback riding skills.”
Although it was previously believed that North Korean officials enforced name changes on people with the same name as Kim Ju-ae, the NIS reported that this news was false.
Last November, Kim Jong-un brought his 9-year-old daughter into the public eye for the first time when they attended a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
She also accompanied her father to a military banquet in February to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Korean People’s Army.
Her recent public appearances raised questions and theories of future leadership, but the NIS said it is too early for Kim Jong-un to be appointing a successor as he is still young and healthy.
“The intention behind the second born Kim Ju-ae’s frequent appearance in public seems like an effort to imprint the legitimacy of the hereditary succession of the Kim bloodline,” Yoo told reporters.
Though not much is known about Kim Ju-ae’s siblings, Yoo said that Kim Jong-un’s first child is a son, according to international intel.
The gender of his third child is still unknown.
According to Youn, North Korea could be running trials of its new solid-fuel Intercontinental ballistic missile in the near future as well as assembling military drills in March or April.
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