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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has handed his teenage daughter a leadership role in the regime’s powerful “Missile Administration,” the body that oversees Pyongyang’s nuclear forces, South Korean media reported Monday.
The girl, Ju Ae, who is believed to be 13 or 14 years old, was assessed by South Korean intelligence received on Sunday to be acting as a “missile general director” while authorities monitor developments at the ongoing Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, the reports said.
The Chosun Daily, citing high-level government sources familiar with the matter, said intelligence agencies obtained reports that Kim’s daughter has been elevated to the position.
While Jang Chang-ha is officially listed as director of the administration, intelligence suggested Kim’s daughter is receiving briefings from generals and issuing directives.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service recently told lawmakers that her public profile signals she is also in the “stage of being designated as a successor,” adding that circumstances have been seen where she provides opinions on policy, The Associated Press reported.
The teen has appeared alongside her father at high-profile military events, including intercontinental ballistic missile launches and weapons inspections.
North Korean state media first confirmed her existence in November 2022, and described her only as a “beloved child” when she accompanied Kim at the launch of the Hwasong-17 ICBM.
Her name has never been officially disclosed by Pyongyang.
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Her reported role comes as Kim continues to showcase advances in the country’s weapons programs.
On Feb. 18, Kim was photographed taking the wheel of a nuclear-capable 600mm multiple rocket launcher in Pyongyang, touting it as among the most powerful of its kind.
State media showed rows of launch vehicles and said the rockets, which Kim claimed rival short-range ballistic missiles and use artificial intelligence in their guidance systems, have “completely changed” modern artillery warfare, Reuters reported.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Kim was re-elected general secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea on Feb.22, a decision announced by state-run media following the party’s Ninth Congress.
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North Korea has suspended all meaningful diplomacy with the United States and South Korea since the collapse of a 2019 summit between Kim and President Donald Trump.
This came over disagreements about sanctions relief in exchange for steps to wind down Kim’s nuclear and missile program.
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