Kim Jong Un watches North Korea weapons test with teenage daughter
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a live-fire test of several rocket launch systems alongside his teenage daughter on Saturday, as the regime steps up its weapons demonstrations in joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, state media reported.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim oversaw a strike exercise involving twelve 600mm ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers along North Korea’s east coast, according to the Associated Press.
The South Korean military said it detected around a dozen ballistic missiles launched from an area near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
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In this photo provided by the North Korean government, leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter attend a live-fire test of several rocket launch systems, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
South Korea’s National Security Council condemned the launches as a provocation and said they violated United Nations Security Council resolutions that ban North Korea from conducting ballistic missile tests, the Associated Press reported.
Kim said the exercise was aimed at demonstrating the destructive capability of the country’s tactical nuclear forces, according to state media.
“If this weapon is used, the adversary’s military infrastructure within striking range can never survive,” Kim said.
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This photo provided by the North Korean government shows leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter watching cruise missile launches from the naval destroyer Choe Hyon, via video, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
Photos released by state media showed Kim Jong Un and his daughter – believed to be Kim Ju Ae, aged around 13 or 14 – walking near the launch trucks, the Associated Press reported.
Kim Ju Ae has appeared alongside her father at numerous military events, missile tests and parades since late 2022, fueling speculation that Kim Jong Un could position her as his future successor.
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In this photo provided by the North Korean government, the daughter of leader Kim Jong Un tries out a pistol at a factory producing pistols and other weapons at an undisclosed location in North Korea, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
The live-fire test came after the United States and South Korea began their annual military exercises earlier this week, which North Korea regularly condemns as a rehearsal for an invasion.
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Last month, Kim Jong Un reportedly gave his teenage daughter a leadership role in the regime’s powerful “Missile Administration,” the body that oversees Pyongyang’s nuclear forces.
Emma Bussey of the Associated Press and Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
