North Korea has unveiled the little-known daughter of its leader Kim Jong-un at a missile launch site, drawing the keen attention of a fourth-generation member of the ruling family that has ruled North Korea for more than seven decades.
On Saturday, North Korean state media said Kim had observed the launch of a new type of ICBM with his wife, Ri Sol-ju, their "beloved daughter" and other officials the day before.
The North Korean leader mentioned that the launch of the Hwasong-17 missile— North Korea's longest-range, nuclear-capable missile — proved it had a reliable weapon to contain US-led military threats.
Rodong Sinmun, the main newspaper, also published a set of photos of Kim watching a missile fly from a distance with his daughter.
Other photos showed her with her hair pulled back, wearing a white trench coat and a pair of red shoes as she walked alongside her father with a huge rocket atop a launch truck.
It is the first time North Korean state media has mentioned the daughter or published her photos. KCNA did not provide other details about her, such as her name and age.
Much of Kim's private life is still unknown. However, South Korean media reported that Kim married Ri, a former singer, in 2009, and that the couple have three children born in 2010, 2013, and 2017.
It was not known which child Kim took to the launch site. But in 2013, after a trip to Pyongyang, retired NBA star Dennis Rodman told the British newspaper the Guardian that he and Kim had been spending "relaxing time by the sea" with the leader's family and that he held Kim's infant daughter, named Ju Ae.
The identities of Kim's children are a source of strong outside interest as the 38-year-old ruler has not publicly appointed an heir apparent.
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