North Korean leader Kim watched a test of a rocket launch system with his daughter

Seoul, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accompanied his teenage daughter to watch a live-fire test of multiple rocket launch systems, state media reported Sunday, in response to ongoing US-South Korean military training that North Korea considers an invasion rehearsal.

Kim watched a strike drill involving twelve 600 mm caliber, ultraprecision rocket launchers off North Korea’s east coast on Saturday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

South Korea’s military said on Saturday it had detected about 10 ballistic missiles fired from North Korea’s capital toward the East Sea. South Korea’s National Security Council called the launch a provocation in violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning any ballistic activities by North Korea.

KCNA quoted Kim as saying the drill would “unsettle” enemies within a 420-kilometer (260-mile) striking range and give them a “deeper understanding of the destructive power of tactical nuclear weapons.” He was apparently referring to South Korea and US forces stationed in South Korea.

“If this weapon is used, the adversary’s military infrastructure can never survive within its striking range,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

KCNA photos showed Kim and his daughter, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and about 13 years old, walking near massive olive-green launch trucks and watching weapons being launched from them. The girl is accompanying her father to several high-profile events such as missile tests and military parades by the end of 2022, ruling out speculation that she is being groomed as his successor.

Experts say North Korea’s oversized rocket launchers blur the lines between artillery systems and ballistic missiles because they can generate their own thrust and provide guidance during delivery. North Korea has said some of these systems are capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

The spring US-South Korea Freedom Shield training, a computer-simulated command post exercise, will run through March 19. North Korea often responds to the exercises with its own weapons tests and fiery rhetoric.