• Kim’s daughter providing input on policy matters: lawmakers.
• NIS had described Kim Ju Ae as being “in study as successor”.
• Ju Ae increasingly prominently featured in N Korea’s state media.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to be taking steps to consolidate his daughter’s position as successor, and there are signs she is providing input on policy matters, South Korean lawmakers said on Thursday, citing a spy agency briefing.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency (NIS) will be closely watching whether the daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, attends an upcoming meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party and how she is presented, including whether she takes on any official title, the lawmakers said.

“In the past, the NIS described Kim Ju Ae as being ‘in study as successor’ but today the expression used was that she ‘was in the stage of being internally appointed successor’,” lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters following a closed-door briefing from the NIS.

Ju Ae, who is believed to be in her early teens, has been increasingly prominently featured in North Korea’s state media accompanying her father on field guidance including inspections of weapons projects amid speculation by analysts that she is being groomed as the country’s fourth-generation leader.

The NIS believes the role she has taken on during public events indicates she has started to provide policy input and that she is being treated as the de facto second-highest leader, Lee and another lawmaker Park Sun-won said.

North Korea has announced the Workers’ Party will convene the inauguration meeting of the ninth Congress in late February, an event that analysts believe will unveil major policy goals for coming years on the economy, external affairs and defence.

Leader Kim Jong Un is directing the development of a large submarine that is likely capable of carrying up to 10 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and which, considering the vessel’s displacement of 8,700 tons, may be designed to be powered by a nuclear reactor, Park and Lee said.

It remains unclear, however, whether it will be nuclear powered or operationally functional as designed, the lawmakers said, citing the spy agency’s analysis.

• India to purchase 114 French Rafale: ministry source.
• Aviation could manufacture 90 jets in country: Indian media.
• Procurement to enhance “deterrence capabilities”, says ministry.
  

NEW DELHI: Indian officials have cleared the proposed purchase of $39 billion worth of defence equipment, including more Rafale jets, the defence ministry said on Thursday, days ahead of a visit by France’s President Emmanuel Macron.

A defence ministry source told AFP that the decision covers the purchase of 114 French Rafale fighter jets, adding to a few dozen already ordered for the Indian Air Force.

New Delhi has sought over the past decade to reduce its dependence on Russia, its traditional main supplier of military equipment, turning to other countries while pushing to boost domestic production.

A defence ministry statement that did not specify the number of jets under the proposed deal said that “the majority” of them would be manufactured in India.

Media reports in India, citing unnamed government sources, suggested Dassault Aviation could manufacture at least 90 jets in the country under the deal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has considered such a major order of multi-role fighter aircraft for years, pushing all potential suppliers to transfer technology and manufacturing to India.

The defence ministry statement said the procurement would enhance the air force’s “dominance” and “deterrence capabilities… with long range offensive strikes”.

The purchase was approved by the defence acquisition council, which comprises top military officers and the defence minister, and can now move to commercial negotiations.

These would be followed by a final approval by the powerful cabinet committee on security, which is chaired by the prime minister.

Macron is set to visit India on Tuesday.

Ageing fleet

The Indian air force has retired some of its ageing aircraft, and now has a fleet of 29 jets — well below the officially approved 42.

Bureaucratic hurdles and insufficient domestic production have been blamed for the shortage.

In September, New Delhi announced a $7-billion deal to acquire 97 domestically designed and built Tejas jets.

The announcement came a day before the air force retired its Soviet-era MiG-21s.

Russian MiG-29s and French Mirage 2000 are expected to retire over the next few years.

Gradually turning away from Russian military gear, India has increased imports from the United States, France and Israel.

Since 2015, India has bought 36 Rafale jets worth around $8.7 billion and in April announced a fresh multi-billion dollar deal to buy 26 more.

Modi’s government has also liberalised laws to ease private investments in domestic defence manufacturing.

A four-day conflict with nuclear-armed rival Pakistan last year highlighted the need for Delhi to upgrade its defence capabilities.

Pakistan shot down several Indian jets, including three advanced French Rafale planes, during the four-day conflict in May 2025.

New Delhi pledged a record $85 billion defence budget earlier this month, a sum which defence minister Rajnath Singh described as “unprecedented”.

Last year, Singh announced an agreement with France to jointly design and manufacture a 120 kN jet engine within the next decade.

With an eye on Beijing’s growing influence in the key Indian Ocean shipping lanes, Delhi is also pushing to rapidly modernise its navy.

The country is in the process of placing orders for at least 75 ships and submarines, most of them built locally, the defence ministry said in December.

DUBAI: The UAE authorities have shut down 230 social media accounts in a sweeping crackdown on fake job advertisements that lured victims with promises of employment in the United Arab Emirates and allegedly took money in return for bogus offers, officials said.

The fraudulent posts, widely shared online under slogans such as “excellent job opportunities in Dubai”, targeted overseas jobseekers and residents seeking work, authorities said. Victims were asked to pay fees for processing, visas or recruitment services that did not exist.

Officials said the accounts were operating without government licences and were illegally advertising recruitment services. Promoting employment opportunities without proper authorisation is a criminal offence under UAE law, they added.

Authorities warned that those found running fake job advertisements face fines ranging from 20,000 dirhams to 100,000 dirhams ($5,400–$27,000) and up to six months in prison.

The government urged jobseekers to verify vacancies through official channels and licensed recruitment agencies, and to avoid transferring money in response to online job offers.

The crackdown forms part of broader efforts to combat online fraud and protect the country’s labour market from exploitation and misinformation.