The National Intelligence Service (NIS) presented its findings during a closed-door parliamentary session, with lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties saying the agency’s conclusion was based on collected intelligence rather than circumstantial inference.

Briefings indicated the imagery of Ju Ae operating military equipment was intended to project capability and address doubts surrounding the prospect of a female successor.

North Korea’s state-run KCNA last month released photographs showing Kim and his daughter driving a new tank, adding to earlier images of her participating in weapons training, including firing a rifle and handling a handgun. Lawmakers said the pattern of exposure suggested a deliberate effort to embed her within the country’s military narrative.

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sun-won said the public appearances echoed those of Kim Jong Un in the early 2010s, when he was being prepared to succeed his father, describing the imagery as a form of symbolic continuity in leadership grooming. The NIS assessment marks a progression from earlier evaluations that Ju Ae was being prepared for a future role, with her current prominence indicating a more accelerated succession framework.

Lawmakers have previously cited the agency as viewing Ju Ae as effectively the second-ranking figure in North Korea’s leadership hierarchy. People Power Party lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun said the NIS dismissed suggestions that Kim Yo Jong might oppose the development, noting she does not exercise independent authority within the system.

Some analysts urged caution in interpreting the developments as definitive confirmation of succession. Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification said the available imagery alone did not establish that Ju Ae had been formally designated as heir, noting she continues to appear alongside her father rather than independently, unlike Kim Jong Un during his own transition period.

North Korea has not publicly confirmed any succession plan, and state media has not explicitly identified Ju Ae as a future leader.

Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told a closed-door parliamentary briefing that Pyongyang has not supplied weapons or material support to Iran since the conflict began on February 28.

The agency also noted that North Korea refrained from issuing condolences following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in air strikes, according to lawmaker Park Sun-won, who attended the session.

The NIS further said Pyongyang did not send a congratulatory message after Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran’s new supreme leader, underscoring what it described as a cautious diplomatic posture amid the escalating crisis.

While China and Russia have issued multiple statements on the conflict, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has released only two relatively muted responses, the intelligence agency said.

This restrained approach aligns with a broader pattern in which Pyongyang has avoided direct criticism of US President Donald Trump in recent months.The NIS assessed that North Korea’s calibrated messaging is aimed at maintaining diplomatic flexibility ahead of a potential summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump expected in May.

Lawmakers were told the strategy reflects Pyongyang’s effort to position itself for a possible shift in geopolitical dynamics once the Middle East conflict stabilizes.Economic considerations are also shaping North Korea’s posture, the NIS said.

The country is facing disruptions in securing industrial supplies, alongside rising prices and currency pressures linked to the broader regional instability. The agency added that Pyongyang is seeking to secure oil supplies from Russia to mitigate the impact.

At the Ninth Workers’ Party Congress in late February, leader Kim Jong Un indicated a willingness to engage with Washington, stating there was no reason the two countries could not improve relations if the United States acknowledged North Korea as a nuclear state and abandoned what Pyongyang considers hostile policies.

According to the NIS, Kim’s remarks were delivered in a personal tone intended to signal openness to dialogue while maintaining strategic leverage, suggesting a calculated effort to keep diplomatic channels viable amid shifting international conditions.