The daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who was recently seen in public for the first time, is his second child, aged about 10, South Korea’s spy agency told politicians on Tuesday.
On Saturday, North Korea released photos of Mr Kim at the launch of the country’s most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, named Hwasong-17. He was accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju and their “beloved daughter,” state media reported.
The girl, thought to be named Kim Ju-ae, stood hand-in-hand with Mr Kim and later watched the test from a viewing platform.
In a closed-door briefing at a parliament committee, AP reported that South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, the country’s main spy agency, told politicians that it assesses the daughter is Mr Kim’s second child and is about 10, Yoo Sang-bum, one of the politicians who attended the meeting, said.
The NIS said it cannot confirm the lawmakers’ comments. It typically neither confirms nor denies the contents of its private briefings provided at parliament. The NIS has a spotty record in confirming developments in North Korea, one of the world’s most secretive nations.
Some analysts said the girl's appearance at a missile test site showed that Mr Kim was emboldened by his advancing nuclear arsenal, the backbone of his family’s rule.
Others speculate that if he continues to take her to major public events, that could suggest that he might consider her an early heir apparent.
A potential successor?
Analysts said it is far too early to tell whether the girl is a successor or simply a symbol used to assure citizens that nuclear weapons would protect children and be “monuments to be passed down to our descendants for generations,” as state media reported.
Chun Su-jin, the South Korean author of a book on North Korean women leaders, said the chance of North Korean elites welcoming Mr Kim's daughter as ruler is very small.
“It is not ready to welcome a leader of the other gender,” she said. "(Kim) is just staging a show that he is a loving father, not just a brutal dictator who shoots missiles.”
Others believe that despite North Korea’s deeply patriarchal society, gender may not disqualify a daughter or other woman from taking power.
Barring a sudden health problem that leads to his incapacitation or death, there is a fair amount of time before Mr Kim, believed to be nearly 40, needs to consider a successor, said Michael Madden, blogger and director of North Korea Leadership Watch.
“That gives ample time for North Korea's political culture to change and create the conditions for a female successor,” Mr Madden said.
Mr Kim has elevated several women around him, including his sister, Yo Jong, and Choe Son-hui, the country’s first woman foreign minister.
Does Kim Jong-un have any other children?
The daughter apparently is Mr Kim’s child who retired NBA star Dennis Rodman saw during his trip to Pyongyang in 2013.
After that Pyongyang visit, Rodman told the British newspaper The Guardian that he and Mr Kim had a “relaxing time by the sea” with the leader’s family and that he held Mr Kim’s baby daughter, named Ju Ae.
It was the first time North Korea officially confirmed her existence. North Korea’s state media did not disclose the age, name and other details of Mr Kim’s daughter last week.
South Korean media have speculated Mr Kim married Ms Ri in 2009 and that they have three children, who were born in 2010, 2013 and 2017, respectively. Some reports said Mr Kim’s first child is a son and the third one is a daughter.
Mr Kim, 38, is a third generation of his family to run North Korea since 1948. He inherited power in late 2011 upon the death of his father Kim Jong-il.
Mr Kim and his father were both first mentioned in state media dispatches after they became adults. Given that, the revealing of the daughter believed to be in her early teens came as a surprise to observers.
Agencies contributed to this story
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
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MATCH INFO
Barcelona 5 (Lenglet 2', Vidal 29', Messi 34', 75', Suarez 77')
Valladolid 1 (Kiko 15')
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
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Torque: 385 and 650Nm
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day – 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227-4 at the close.
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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The five pillars of Islam
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Q&A with Dash Berlin
Welcome back. What was it like to return to RAK and to play for fans out here again?
It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the passionate UAE again. Seeing the fans having a great time that is what it’s all about.
You're currently touring the globe as part of your Legends of the Feels Tour. How important is it to you to include the Middle East in the schedule?
The tour is doing really well and is extensive and intensive at the same time travelling all over the globe. My Middle Eastern fans are very dear to me, it’s good to be back.
You mix tracks that people know and love, but you also have a visually impressive set too (graphics etc). Is that the secret recipe to Dash Berlin's live gigs?
People enjoying the combination of the music and visuals are the key factor in the success of the Legends Of The Feel tour 2018.
Have you had some time to explore Ras al Khaimah too? If so, what have you been up to?
Coming fresh out of Las Vegas where I continue my 7th annual year DJ residency at Marquee, I decided it was a perfect moment to catch some sun rays and enjoy the warm hospitality of Bab Al Bahr.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
India squads
Test squad against Afghanistan: Rahane (c), Dhawan, Vijay, Rahul, Pujara, Karun, Saha, Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Umesh, Shami, Pandya, Ishant, Thakur.
T20 squad against Ireland and England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Raina, Pandey, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh.
ODI squad against England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Shreyas, Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh
