SEOUL, February 27. /TASS/. It is still premature to determine whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who recently made her seventh public appearance, is being groomed as her father’s successor, South Korea’s Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said in an interview with CBS radio.

The minister stated that despite the ongoing efforts with the clear intention of preparing the transfer of power [in the future] to the fourth generation, he believes "the government needs to keep a close eye on whether Ju-ae will assume leadership". Kim Jong-Un is a grandson of North Korean founder Kim Il-Sung.

"Even if North Korea begins its succession plan now, the question remains over whether she will be able to lead the North Korean regime that is centered on the military," explained Kwon Young-se. According to him, North Korea has a "much more patriarchal nature" than South Korea, and Kim Jong-Un himself is only about 40 years old.

"It’s too soon to assume that [Kim Ju-ae] will be his heir," said the minister. He did not confirm any information about the existence of Kim Jong-Un’s eldest son. The minister explained that even though there are grounds for speculation about his existence, we cannot give a substantive and precise answer to that, everything is at the level of intelligence. According to him, it is now safe to say there is Kim Ju-ae and another child, whose gender is not exactly known.

The minister assumed that if there were only women in the Paektu bloodline (descendants of DPRK founder Kim Il-Sung) the conversation would be a little different. On February 25, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un launched the construction of a new street in Pyongyang, with his "beloved daughter" in attendance.