North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has selected his daughter as his heir, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday.

Kim Ju Ae - who is believed to be 13 - has in recent months been pictured beside her father in high-profile events like a visit to Beijing in September, her first known trip abroad.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it took a “range of circumstances” into account including her increasingly prominent public presence at official events" in making this assessment.

  • FunkyStuff@lemmy.ml
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    4 days ago

    South Korean media reports of North Korean defectors are notoriously not trustworthy. North Korean defectors suffer from a lot of stigma if they go to the South and usually struggle to find a job. Tabloids pay them for their stories. Obviously, the taller the tale, the more likely they get a paycheck.

    The fact that NK is so closed off means it’s hard to disprove a lot of the claims, but we can still know that they’re false when they’re contradictory. For example, some NK defectors have claimed having KJU’s haircut is illegal, others claim it’s the only haircut men are allowed to wear. Some claim that abortion is totally banned, others claim that the state forces women to get abortions.

    Probably the epitome of this phenomenon is Yeonmi Park. Are you really gonna die on the hill that NK defectors like her are trustworthy sources?