Her age -- and maybe her name -- are mysteries, but this girl could be North Korea’s next leader.

SEOUL, South Korea -- Likely in her early teens and bearing a close resemblance to her mother, the daughter of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un is increasingly viewed as the country’s likely next ruler.

The girl, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, was in the spotlight again as she accompanied her father on his high-profile China trip, his own first visit to a major gathering of world leaders and her first known trip abroad.

Video and images carried by North Korean state media showed her right behind her father and ahead of Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui as they got off a train in Beijing, clapping as officials at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing bowed to her father, and standing near him as he was seated with senior officials in a meeting room inside his train.

South Korea’s spy agency said Sept. 11 that it assesses that the trip solidified her status as her father’s likely heir.

She is believed to be 12 or 13 years old. Not much else is known about her, but her repeated appearances at high-profile events with her father have prompted speculation that she’s being groomed as North Korea’s next leader.
China trip is analyzed intensively

In a closed-door briefing for lawmakers, the South Korean National Intelligence Service said Kim Jong Un was believed to have brought his daughter to China to help her acquire overseas experience and cement her status as his likely heir, according to lawmaker Park Sunwon, who attended the meeting.

The spy agency cited coverage of her appearances in China in the country’s main state TV station and newspaper, which target the ordinary citizens, according to lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who was also present at the meeting.
Her name and age are unconfirmed

North Korean state media outlets have never published her name, referring to her as Kim Jong Un’s “respected” or “most beloved” child.

The belief that she is named Ju Ae is based on an account by former NBA champion Dennis Rodman, in which he recalled holding Kim Jong Un’s baby daughter during a trip to Pyongyang in 2013.

Her exact age is unconfirmed but South Korean intelligence officials believe she was born in 2013.

In 2023, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers it assessed Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju also have an older son and a younger third child whose gender is unknown.
She’s being increasingly showcased in her father’s events

Kim Jong Un allowed his daughter to be seen in public for the first time during a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2022. Photos in state media showed Kim Ju Ae wearing a white coat and red shoes as she watched a soaring missile from a distance and walked hand-in-hand with her father.

Her carefully-crafted appearances have included missile tests, military parades, and the launch of a naval destroyer in April.

Kim Jong Un has recently expanded his daughter’s public appearances beyond military events to include some of his most ambitious economic projects and cultural events, including the opening of a beach resort in June.
Some question her chances to take over a male-dominated system

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service issued a careful assessment last year that it views Kim Ju Ae as her father’s likely successor, citing a comprehensive analysis of her public activities and the state protocols provided to her.

However, some outside experts disagree with that assessment, citing Kim Jong Un’s relatively young age and the extremely male-dominated nature of North Korea’s power hierarchy.

In its Thursday’s briefing at parliament, the National Intelligence Service assessed that Kim has no major health issues and that he conducted official schedules in China smoothly.

Since its foundation in 1948, North Korea has been successively ruled by male members of the Kim family -- Kim’s father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Un inherited power in late 2011 upon his father’s death.

By Hyung-jin Kim And Kim Tong-hyung, The Associated Press

Here’s a look at the long history of U.S. political shootings.

Right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at a university in Utah on Wednesday, becoming the latest in a long string of victims of U.S. political violence.

Below, AFP looks back on some prominent targets.
Melissa Hortman (2025)

Minnesota state Representative Melissa Hortman was fatally shot along with her husband in June by a gunman who authorities say had a manifesto and a list of other lawmakers and potential targets in his car.

Donald Trump (2024)

U.S. President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A gunman fired several shots, killing a rally goer and lightly wounding the president in the ear.

A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking from the bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round.
Steve Scalise (2017)

Representative Steve Scalise was shot by a gunman who was targeting Republican lawmakers during practice for a politicians’ charity baseball game.
Gabrielle Giffords (2011)

Representative Gabby Giffords survived a shooting to the head that left six people dead, including a U.S. federal judge and a member of the congresswoman’s staff. She is now a prominent advocate for the prevention of gun violence.

Ronald Reagan (1981)

U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously wounded as he left an event at the Hilton hotel in Washington. The attacker was John Hinckley Jr., who was granted unconditional release in 2022.

Reagan spent twelve days in the hospital. The incident boosted his popularity, as he displayed humor and resilience during his recovery.
Harvey Milk (1978)

Gay rights icon and San Francisco politician Harvey Milk was shot dead along with mayor George Moscone by a disgruntled former city supervisor.

One of the first openly gay politicians in America, Milk was elected to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, where he was instrumental in passing laws banning discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
George Wallace (1972)

While campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, Wallace was shot four times and paralyzed for life at a shopping mall in Laurel, Maryland.

The assassination attempt on Wallace, who was known for his segregationist views and populist appeal, highlighted tensions in the Vietnam war era.
Robert F. Kennedy (1968)

U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s brother Robert, who was running for the Democratic presidential nomination, was shot and killed at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-born Jordanian, was convicted of his murder and is serving a life sentence in a prison in California.

Martin Luther King (1968)

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray was convicted of the murder and died in prison in 1998, but King’s children have expressed doubts that he was the assassin.
Malcolm X (1965)

Malcolm X, an icon of the civil rights movement, was struck down in a hail of bullets in New York.

He was gunned down at the height of his influence and within months of the passage of federal legislation that effectively abolished racial segregation.

John F. Kennedy (1963)

Riding in his motorcade with his wife Jackie, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald.

The Warren Commission investigating the assassination concluded that Oswald, a former marine who had lived in the Soviet Union, had acted alone.

#Banksy mural of a judge beating a protester is scrubbed from London court.

#LONDON — The verdict on Banksy’s artwork on a courthouse wall of a judge beating a protester was that it had to go.

Unlike the elusive artist’s other provocative works that are sometimes stolen or carefully removed and displayed in galleries or sold at auction for millions, his latest mural was being erased Wednesday from the record.

The stenciled spray-painting of a protester lying on the ground holding a blood-splattered placard while a judge in a traditional wig and black gown beats him with a gavel was scrubbed from wall of the iconic Royal Courts of Justice.

The order to remove it came from court administrators because the 143-year-old Victorian gothic revival style building is valued for its historical significance and must maintain its original character, a spokesperson said.

Metropolitan Police said officers were investigating a complaint that the work was an act of criminal damage.

Banksy’s spokesperson did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

The work appeared Monday and was quickly covered up after Banksy posted a photo of it on Instagram, his usual method of authenticating his work.

The artist, who has never publicly revealed his identity, is known for criticizing government policy on migration and war.

While the artwork didn’t make overt reference to a particular event or cause, some activists saw it as a comment on the U.K. government’s ban on the group Palestine Action, which has been proscribed as a terrorist organization.

On Saturday almost 900 people were arrested at a London protest challenging the ban.

The courthouse is home to the Court of Appeal and High Court, which have both weighed in on Palestine Action’s efforts to appeal the ban. Appellate judges initially rejected the organization’s request to appeal, but a High Court judge then allowed it to go forward, though the government is challenging that decision.

Brian Melley, The Associated Press

El Salvador seizes 1.4 tons of cocaine floating in #Pacific. El Salvador seized packages containing 1.4 tons of cocaine floating in the Pacific Ocean, President Nayib Bukele said Tuesday, calling it a strike “against international drug trafficking.”

The shipment was found approximately 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) southwest of El Cordoncillo at the mouth of the Jaltepeque estuary on El Salvador’s Pacific coast, he said.

The seizure comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has declared war on Latin American drug traffickers and declared cartels “terrorist” organizations.

International criminal cartels use Central America as a gateway for drug trafficking, especially cocaine, to the United States.

Trump has sent several warships towards Venezuela, accusing the government of being part of the drug trade, and ordered a missile strike on a suspected drug boat, killing 11 people.

The Salvadoran president said the floating packages were valued at US$35 million.

Between 2024 and 2025, El Salvador seized 37.2 tons of cocaine with an estimated value of US$932.4 million, Bukele added.

The US embassy in El Salvador praised the operation, emphasizing that “each successful action against criminal networks shows that there is a growing synchrony between partners with common goals.”

Washington estimates that 90 per cent of cocaine reaching the United States passes through Mexico and Central America via small planes, boats, and mini-submarines.

Three former agency leaders accuse director of politicizing #FBI. Three former senior FBI agents who were abruptly fired in August accused its director, Kash Patel, of politicizing the agency to please his superiors including U.S. President Donald Trump, in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.

Among them is Brian Driscoll, who served as the acting FBI director during the first month of Trump’s second term, until Patel -- a close associate of the president -- took over.

The three men, with a combined 60 years of law enforcement experience, described their Aug. 8 dismissal by Patel as “illegal” and demand to be reinstated, according to the lawsuit.

They say they were punished “for their refusals to politicize the FBI,” notably by opposing the dismissal of agents whose sole offense was being considered insufficiently aligned with the priorities of the new administration, or being publicly criticized by Trump supporters.

The FBI declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

During a meeting on Aug. 5 between Driscoll and Patel, the latter said that in order to keep his job, he had to fire everyone who had worked on criminal cases against Trump, the lawsuit says.

“The FBI tried to put the President in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it,” Patel said, according to the suit.

Trump has repeatedly blamed the criminal proceedings against him on the alleged weaponization of the Justice Department by his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden’s administration.

“Our predecessors turned the Department of Justice into the Department of Injustice,” Trump said during a speech at the department earlier this year. “I stand before you today to declare that those days are over, and they are never going to come back.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen face a formal complaint by the MK Party, alleging serious ethical misconduct during their official visit to the White House in May.

#Canada sending $2.6M in humanitarian, refugee aid after months of Pakistan flooding.

Pakistan has been grappling since June with floods and heavy monsoon rains that have affected roughly four million people and killed more than 900.

Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for international development, says Canada is sending $2 million to the UN Refugee Agency in Pakistan, which primarily supports Afghan refugees but has also been providing emergency relief.

He says $350,000 will be sent to Save the Children Canada to provide emergency shelter, water and hygiene services.

The remaining $250,000 will support the Pakistan Red Crescent Society’s relief work.

Pakistan has experienced a rise in large-scale natural disasters that environmental experts have linked to climate change, including floods in 2022 that led Canada to announce $58 million in aid.

More than 60 containers fall off ship in Long Beach port. LOS ANGELES — More than 60 containers toppled off a cargo ship Tuesday morning in the Port of Long Beach, tumbling overboard and floating in the water.

The shipping containers fell off a vessel named the Mississippi shortly before 9 a.m., and no injuries have been reported, according to Port of Long Beach spokesperson Art Marroquin.

About 67 containers were in the water, the U.S. Coast Guard said on the social platform X.

Long Beach, about 20 miles (32 kilometres) south of Los Angeles, is one of the busiest seaports in the country, with 40% of all shipping containers in the United States coming through it or the Los Angeles port.

Some of the containers appeared to have fallen on the STAX 2, an anti-pollution vessel attached to the side of the Mississippi that captures emissions. When empty, a container can weigh between two to four metric tons (2.2 to 4.4 tons) depending on the size.

The Pier G container terminal, one of six at the port, temporarily stopped unloading and loading ships as authorities worked to secure the containers.

The Mississippi sails under the flag of Portugal and arrived in Long Beach after departing Aug. 26 from the Yantian port in Shenzhen, China, according to vessel #tracking websites.

Jaimie Ding, The Associated Press

#Syria has “strongly condemned” Israeli attacks on several sites in and around Homs city in the west of the country and around the coastal city of Latakia.

Kim Jong Un oversees test of new rocket engine for #ICBMs, North Korea says.

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Tuesday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test of a new rocket engine designed for intercontinental ballistic missiles, the latest step in his effort to build an arsenal that poses a viable threat to the continental United States.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Monday’s event marked the ninth and final ground test of the solid-fuel rocket engine built with carbon fiber and capable of producing 1,971 kilonewtons of thrust, more powerful than past models. The report came a week after Kim visited the research institute that developed the engine, which North Korea then said will be used for future ICBMs, including a system called Hwasong-20.

North Korea in recent years has flight-tested a variety of ICBMs that demonstrated potential range to reach the U.S. mainland, including those with built-in solid propellants that are easier to move and conceal and can be prepared for launch more quickly than the North’s previous liquid-fuel missiles.

Kim has called for further advancements in North Korea’s long-range weapons, including the development of multi-warhead systems that would improve their chances of defeating missile defenses. All of North Korea’s ICBM tests so far have been conducted at steeper-than-normal trajectories to avoid neighboring territories, and experts say the country may not yet have perfected the technology needed to ensure its warheads survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry.

KCNA said Kim expressed satisfaction after Monday’s test, calling the “eye-opening” development of the new rocket engine a “significant change” in his effort to expand North Korea’s nuclear forces.

Kim has stepped up testing activities since the collapse of nuclear talks with the U.S. in 2019 under President Donald Trump ’s first term, demonstrating weapons of various ranges designed to strike U.S. allies in Asia and the U.S. mainland. Analysts say Kim’s nuclear push is aimed at eventually pressuring Washington to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and to negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

Kim is also trying to bolster his leverage by strengthening his cooperation with traditional allies Russia and China, in an emerging partnership aimed at undercutting U.S. influence.

Kim has sent thousands of troops and large quantities of military equipment to Russia to help fuel President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. He visited Beijing last week, sharing the spotlight with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin at a massive military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s fight against Japanese aggression. Experts say Kim’s rare foreign trip was likely intended to boost his leverage ahead of a potential resumption of talks with the United States.

In a separate report, #KCNA said Xi sent a letter to Kim on North Korea’s founding anniversary, which fell on Tuesday, and called for strengthened “strategic communication” between the countries.

Kim Tong-hyung, The Associated Press