Kim close to naming teenage daughter as future North Korean leader, South believes

South Korea's spy agency monitoring whether girl, believed to be 13, will appear at political conference this month

South Korea's spy agency has told lawmakers it believes the teenage daughter of Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator, is close to being designated as the country's future leader, as Kim moves to extend the family dynasty to a fourth generation.

The assessment by the national intelligence service (NIS) comes as North Korea is preparing to hold its biggest political conference later this month, where Kim is expected to outline his main policy goals for the next five years and take steps to tighten his authoritarian grip.