EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION: Debutante Dictator! Bloodbath Expected After Kim Jong Un Names Teen Daughter as Successor
Kim Jong-Un's decision to name his teen daughter successor sparks fears of a brutal power struggle.
April 23 2026, Published 6:30 a.m. ET
North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un has named his teen daughter as his successor, leaving experts predicting the move will trigger a vicious bloodbath among other rivals for his Hermit Kingdom throne, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
For years, Kim's 38-year-old sister, Kim Yo-jong, was presumed to become the totalitarian communist nation's Supreme Leader following his death after serving as the chain-smoking dictator's "right hand" and bloody enforcer for years.
But now South Korea's National Intelligence Service has quietly informed leaders Kim, 42, has crowned middle child Kim Ju-ae, 13, as his nation's next head.
Kim’s Daughter Tipped as Successor
South Korea's National Intelligence Service said Kim Jong-un has designated daughter Kim Ju-ae as his successor, potentially sidelining sister Kim Yo-jong.
The NIS based the assessment on seeing Ju-ae's prominence at events like ballistic missile testings, military parades and last September's state visit to Beijing – as well as rare photos showing her walking side by side with her tyrant dad rather than steps behind.
Former NIS deputy director Rah Jong-yil said Kim's naming an heir so soon could spark a family war with murderous sister Yo, a brutal killer who was No. 2 in power.
"I believe if Kim Yo-jong believed that she had a chance of becoming the top leader, then she would take it," he said while adding that a power struggle "is probable."
Kim Dynasty’s Brutal Power Plays Exposed
Former NIS deputy director Rah Jong-yil warned Kim Jong-un's reported choice of Kim Ju-ae as heir could spark a power struggle with Kim Yo-jong.
Kim continued North Korea's bloody succession history in 2011 when, shortly after taking power, he had his uncle Jang Song-thaek arrested for treason on live TV and executed by firing squad.
Then in 2017, sinister sister Yo took over her brother's itinerary, security and logistics and allegedly sent two female assassins to kill their exiled half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, with a deadly nerve agent they smeared in his face at a Malaysian airport.
The vicious vixen is also believed to have thrown one defiant general into a vat of hungry piranhas and had former Minister of Public Security O Sang-hon fried alive with a flamethrower in 2014.
Deadly Power Struggle Brewing in Pyongyang
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Kim Jong-un previously ordered the execution of uncle Jang Song-thaek after taking power in 2011, continuing North Korea's violent succession history.
Intelligence experts said Yo is ruthlessly ambitious and even masterminded Kim's poisoning in 2020, when he vanished from public sight for months, leaving her to run the country and threaten the West with nuclear oblivion.
Somehow, Yo – whose mother was mistress of former dictator Kim Jong-il – escaped her brother's wrath with a slap on the wrist that had her sitting on the sidelines at public events for a bit.
Now RadarOnline.com's intelligence source insists Kim likely won't go easy on her again.
"She's a threat to his bloodline," said the insider. "I wouldn't be surprised if she simply vanishes from all party events and dies secretly in some unusual and excruciating way."
