North Korea is boosting security for its leader, Kim Jong Un, because of fears he could be assassinated, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing the South’s main intelligence agency.
The report comes after North Korea sent thousands of troops to Russia to help with its war in Ukraine, raising global concerns about a dangerous escalation of the conflict there.
“The country has raised the level of security around Kim due to possible attempts on his life by operating communications jamming vehicles and drone detection equipment,” Yonhap reported, citing legislators briefed by the National Intelligence Service, or NIS.
Tensions between North Korea and neighboring South Korea have been particularly high in recent weeks with the two sides exchanging accusations of flying drones over each other’s territory.
South Korea and its Western allies have condemned North Korea’s decision to send troops to help Russia with its Ukraine war. Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty in June that includes a mutual defense assistance clause in case of aggression against either side.
The NIS also told South Korean members of parliament that Kim’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae, was believed to have been promoted.
“The NIS … believes her position has partially been elevated, citing her public appearances, including an instance when she was escorted by Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the country’s leader,” Yonhap reported.
Kim Ju Ae, whose age has not been publicly confirmed, has been seen with her father at various events over the past year, triggering speculation she had been chosen as the fourth generation of the Kim family to lead the nation. She is believed to be about 12 years old.
The NIS said in July that North Korea had put forward Kim Ju Ae as a strong candidate to succeed her father, judging by the frequency of her public appearances to gauge public sentiment. More than half of her appearances with her father were related to military activity.
Kim Ju Ae was referred to as a “great person of guidance,” or “hyangdo” in Korean, by the North’s state media in March, a term typically reserved for top leaders and their successors.
The NIS also told parliament on Tuesday that North Korea was ready to try to launch a spy satellite, with technical help from Russia. North Korea’s latest attempt to launch a spy satellite ended with a mid-air explosion in May.
North Korea has supplied Russia with large quantities of weapons for its war in Ukraine, the United States and South Korea say, in exchange for suspected technical help.
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Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.