Kim Jong Un has been photographed firing guns with his teenage daughter as part of the dictator’s drive to modernize North Korea’s military.
Pyongyang propaganda released on Thursday showed the dictator and his child, Kim Ju AeA “new-type pistol” being tested during an inspection of a light ammunition factory.
He said the factory played a “very important role in increasing war efficiency”. North Korea Army, and hailed the gun as “truly an excellent pistol,” the administration’s mouthpiece reported.
Mr. Kim He called for the facility to expand its production and ordered the installation of a new production line.
Image: KCNA/AP
In the photos, the dictator and his daughter can be seen firing guns in black leather jackets, the girl doing so with senior military figures.
The visit comes amid pressure to modernize North Korea’s conventional forces after years of focusing on nuclear weapons.
Last month, state media showed Kim Ju testing a sniper rifle her father gave to senior administration officials.
And on Tuesday, the two witnessed what Pyongyang said was a test launch Nuclear Capable Cruise MissilesFired from a naval destroyer.
Since his debut in November 2022, speculation has been rife that Kim Ju Ae is being groomed for future leadership.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), believed to be a 13-year-old girl, is already believed to be providing input on policy matters.
Kim Jong Un, along with his daughter Kim Ju Ae, visits a North Korean munitions factory. Image: Reuters
Kim Jong Un visits a North Korean munitions factory. Image: Reuters
The teenager has become increasingly visible over the past year, attending missile launches with his father and marking his international debut in China’s “Victory Day” parade in 2025.
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The The organization concludedTherefore, she was “in the process of being appointed as a successor internally”.
She has accompanied her father during several high-profile visits, including his first summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in six years.
The move comes after North Korea’s military muscle-flexing by Kim Yo Jong – Mr Kim’s sister and a senior official – threatened to respond to US-South Korean military drills that began this week.
He warned that the drills would expose the US and South Korea’s “necessary distaste” towards North Korea, and reportedly threatened that Pyongyang would “convince our enemies of our war resistance”.
The 11-day US-South Korea drill that began Monday is mostly a computer-simulated command post exercise and is accompanied by a field training program.
It comes after Mr Kim said last month that North Korea could “start an authoritarian regime”. “Totally Destroy” South Korea If its security is threatened.
He said a “total collapse” of South Korea cannot be ruled out.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung responded at the time by saying that the value his country should uphold was peace.
