NK leader's daughter could be successor: unification minister

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gestures as he and his daughter, Ju-ae, inspect a test launch of the Hwasong-18 missile on April 13 in this photo released by the North's Korean Central News Agency, April 14. Yonhap

South Korea's unification minister said Friday he leaves open the possibility that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter, Ju-ae, could be the country's heir apparent given her public appearances.

"We cannot rule out such a possibility at this point," Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said during a parliamentary audit session when asked if the daughter could become the future successor of the reclusive regime.

"We need to be open to the possibility when looking at recent activities," he added.

Ju-ae, believed to be around 10 years old, made her first public appearance on Nov. 18, when she, along with her father, attended the firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile.

The minister added he "has not been able to confirm" whether the North Korean leader has a son.

"The North Korean regime seems to be stable under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, but it lacks a formal system for the succession of the top leadership, which makes it fundamentally unstable and considerably vulnerable," the minister said. (Yonhap)