SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un monitored strategic cruise missile launches alongside his teenage daughter via video feed from a naval vessel, according to state media reports released Wednesday, amid rising tensions over U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises.
Photos distributed by the Korean Central News Agency depicted the pair inside a conference room viewing a display screen that showed weapons being launched from the naval destroyer Choe Hyon, which entered service one year ago.
The North Korean leader monitored the missile launches through video transmission on Tuesday and emphasized the importance of maintaining “a powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent,” according to KCNA’s report, which made no reference to his daughter’s presence.
The young woman, identified by sources as Kim Ju Ae and believed to be approximately 13 years old, has been present at multiple high-profile occasions alongside her father, including military ceremonies and weapons demonstrations, beginning in late 2022. Intelligence officials from South Korea concluded last month that Kim Jong Un appears poised to name her as his successor.
According to KCNA, the missiles successfully struck target islands located off North Korea’s western coastline. The news agency quoted Kim Jong Un as explaining that the launches were designed to showcase the naval force’s strategic attack capabilities and provide troops with weapons training experience.
The North Korean leader personally witnessed comparable cruise missile tests from the same destroyer just one week earlier, though his daughter did not attend that demonstration.
The missile testing on Tuesday followed the commencement of annual spring military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which North Korea characterizes as preparation for an attack.
Kim Yo Jong, the dictator’s sister and a high-ranking government official, issued a warning on Tuesday that the military drills once again expose the United States and South Korea’s “inveterate repugnancy toward” North Korea. She declared that North Korea would “convince the enemies of our war deterrence.”
The Freedom Shield exercise, scheduled to run for 11 days starting Monday, consists primarily of computer-based command center simulations paired with practical field exercises. North Korea typically responds to these training operations by conducting its own weapons testing.
