Seoul's Unification Ministry on Monday added its voice to growing speculation around Kim Jong Un's succession plans, saying they have not "ruled out" that his daughter could be next in line to lead North Korea.
Pyongyang state media on Saturday referred to Kim's teenage daughter as a "great person of guidance" — "hyangdo" in Korean — a term typically reserved exclusively for top leaders and their successors.
Analysts said it was the first time Kim's daughter — never named by Pyongyang, but identified as Ju Ae by South Korean intelligence — had been described as such by the North.