North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watched a live-fire test of multiple rocket launch systems alongside his teenage daughter Saturday, as the regime escalates weapons demonstrations amid joint U.S.–South Korea military exercises, state media reported.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim oversaw a strike drill involving 12 600mm ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers along North Korea’s east coast, according to The Associated Press.
South Korea’s military said it detected about 10 ballistic missiles launched from an area near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
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South Korea’s National Security Council condemned the launches as a provocation and said they violated United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit North Korea from conducting ballistic missile tests, The Associated Press reported.
Kim said the drill was meant to demonstrate the destructive capability of the country’s tactical nuclear forces, according to state media.
“If this weapon is used, the opponent’s military infrastructure within its striking range can never survive,” Kim said.
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Photos released by state media showed Kim and his daughter — believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, about 13 or 14 years old — walking near launch trucks, The Associated Press reported.
Kim’s daughter has appeared alongside him at numerous military events, missile tests and parades since late 2022, fueling speculation that he may be positioning her as a successor.
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The live-fire test followed annual military drills by the U.S. and South Korea earlier this week, which North Korea routinely condemns as rehearsals for an invasion.
Last month, Kim reportedly gave his teenage daughter a leadership role in the regime’s powerful “Missile Administration,” the body that oversees Pyongyang’s nuclear forces.
The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report.