"In the past, (NIS) described Kim Ju Ae as being in the midst of ‘successor training.’ What was notable today is that they used the term ‘successor-designate stage,’ a shift that’s quite significant," Lee noted, according to the nuclear-armed nations, making it a unique threat on the global stage.
A 2025 U.S. Intelligence Community Annual Threat Assessment stated, "Kim remains committed to increasing the number of North Korea’s nuclear warheads and improving its missile capabilities to threaten the Homeland and U.S. forces, citizens, and allies, and to weaken U.S. power in the AsiaPacific region, as evidenced by the pace of the North’s missile flight tests and the regime’s public touting of its uranium enrichment capabilities."
"Russia is increasingly supporting North Korea’s nuclear status in exchange for Pyongyang's support to Moscow’s war against Ukraine," the assessment noted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report