Kim Jong-un’s daughter appears in public

North Korea’s leader posed with his “beloved daughter” at the launch of the rogue state’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile. See photos.

Kim Jong-un’s daughter has appeared alongside the North Korean leader for the second time this month amid speculation she is being primed to be his successor.

The official Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried more than a dozen pictures of Jong-un at a ceremony for the launch of the North’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile with his “beloved daughter”.

The girl, named Ju Ae, was revealed to the world for the first time at last week’s ICBM launch. Until then, North Korean state media had not mentioned the Supreme Leader’s children, and last week’s report was the first official confirmation that he had a daughter, experts said.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter posing with soldiers who contributed to the test-firing of the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), at an unknown location in North Korea. Picture: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP.

The pair posed with scientists and engineers from a defence science research institute, and workers at a munitions factory, who contributed to the test-firing of the ICBM. Picture: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP.

The photos showed the girl – believed to be Jong-un’s second child – dressed in a black coat with a fur collar, linking arms with her father as they posed in front of the gigantic missile surrounded by uniformed soldiers.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the daughter’s presence was meant to portray Hwasong-17 as “the protector of the future generation”.

“It looks like he will continue to parade his daughter on various occasions and use her as a means for propaganda,” he added.

Ju Ae clapped as her brother waved to the excited crowd. Picture: KCNA via KNS / AFP.

The pair held hands during the ceremony. Picture: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP.

The November 18 ICBM test was the latest in a record-breaking blitz of missile launches by Pyongyang, with officials and analysts in Seoul and Washington warning they could culminate in a seventh nuclear test by North Korea, which last tested an atomic device in 2017.

Hailing the new ICBM as “the world’s strongest strategic weapon”, Jong-un said North Korean scientists had made a “wonderful leap forward in the development of the technology of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles”, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Kim Jong-un and his daughter pose alongside soldiers with the new ICBM in the background. Picture: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP.

The occasion marked the Ju Ae’s second public appearance. Picture: KCNA via KNS/AFP.

Hailing the new ICBM as “the world’s strongest strategic weapon”, Kim said North Korean scientists had made a “wonderful leap forward in the development of the technology of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles”, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Building the nuclear force to protect the dignity and sovereignty of the state and the people “is the greatest and most important revolutionary cause, and its ultimate goal is to possess the world’s most powerful strategic force, the absolute force unprecedented in the century”, he was quoted as saying in his order promoting the officials.

The daughter’s presence was meant to portray Hwasong-17 as “the protector of the future generation”, an expert says. Picture: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP.

The leading officials and scientists had demonstrated to the world Pyongyang’s “goal of building the world’s strongest army”, he added.

The launching vehicle for the new Hwasong-17 ICBM was awarded the title of “DPRK Hero”, a separate KCNA report said, using the initials for the North’s official name.

It “clearly proved before the world that the DPRK is a full-fledged nuclear power”, the report said, adding the North “fully demonstrated its might as the most powerful ICBM state”.

Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification said the North’s trumpeting of the Hwasong-17’s test-firing was aimed at elevating its status as a nuclear power.

“If the (launch of the) Hwasong-15 in 2017 was focused on becoming a nation that can threaten the US mainland with nukes, the latest missile is focusing on becoming the most powerful ICBM state,” he said.

The UN Security Council has passed nearly a dozen resolutions imposing sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and missile activity since 2006.