North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his teenage daughter, oversaw strategic cruise missile tests fired from a warship, state media reported on Wednesday.
The launches come as Pyongyang issued threats in response to ongoing US-South Korean military exercises.
Images released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) depicted the pair in a conference room, observing footage of weapons being fired from the Choe Hyon, a year-old naval destroyer.
Kim Jong Un, who watched the launches via video on Tuesday, emphasised the necessity of maintaining "a powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent," according to the KCNA dispatch, which notably omitted any mention of his daughter.
The girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and thought to be around 13, has made numerous high-profile appearances alongside her father since late 2022, including at military parades and weapons demonstrations.
Last month, South Korea’s intelligence agency suggested that Kim Jong Un was close to designating her as his successor.
KCNA stated the missiles successfully struck target islands situated off North Korea's west coast. Kim Jong Un was quoted as saying the exercises were intended to showcase the navy's strategic offensive capabilities and to familiarise personnel with weapons firings.
Kim Jong Un observed similar cruise missile launches from the Choe Hyon in person last week, but his daughter was not seen at that appearance.
Tuesday's missile firings came after the start of the springtime US-South Korean military drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.
On Tuesday, Kim Jong Un's sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, warned the drills reveal again the US and South Korea's “inveterate repugnancy toward" North Korea.
She said North Korea will “convince the enemies of our war deterrence.”
The 11-day Freedom Shield drill that began Monday is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise and will be accompanied by a field training program. North Korea often reacts to the two sets of training with its own weapons tests.
North Korea has long portrayed the allies’ joint drills as invasion rehearsals and often used them as a pretext to ramp up its own military demonstrations or weapons tests. The allies say the exercises are defensive in nature.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry last week described the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran as an “illegal act of aggression” carried out under the pretext of “fake peace.”
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