North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a live-fire test of multiple rocket launchers with his teenage daughter on Saturday, state media announced, as the country intensifies its display of military capabilities during ongoing joint U.S.-South Korea exercises.
According to The Associated Press, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated that Kim supervised a strike exercise utilizing twelve 600mm ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers on the nation’s eastern coast.
South Korea’s military reported detecting the launch of approximately 10 ballistic missiles from a site near the capital, Pyongyang.
The Associated Press reported that South Korea’s National Security Council denounced the launches as a provocative act, stating they breach United Nations Security Council resolutions that ban North Korea from testing ballistic missiles.
State media quoted Kim as saying the exercise was intended to showcase the destructive power of the country’s tactical nuclear arsenal.
“Should this weapon be employed, the enemy’s military facilities within its operational range are certain to be obliterated,” Kim stated.
Photos distributed by state media depicted Kim and his daughter—identified as Kim Ju Ae, thought to be 13 or 14 years old—walking close to launch vehicles, The Associated Press reported.
Kim’s daughter has been present with him at many military functions, missile tests, and parades since late 2022, leading to conjecture that he might be grooming her as a potential heir.
This live-fire test came after the U.S. and South Korea conducted their annual military drills this week, exercises that North Korea consistently denounces as invasion rehearsals.
Last month, Kim allegedly assigned his teenage daughter a leadership position within the regime’s influential “Missile Administration,” the agency responsible for managing Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal.
The Associated Press and Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report.