North Korea on Saturday released rare images of leader Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, fueling speculation that she is being groomed as his successor.
Kim’s daughter Choe, long seen as the next successor to rule the secretive nuclear-armed state, has participated in a series of high-profile events in recent days, including this week’s military parade marking the end of North Korea’s important party congress.
Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Chue firing a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, with his finger on the trigger and looking through the rifle’s scope, with smoke billowing from the barrel.
She was wearing something like a leather jacket. This is a garment often worn by both her and her father at major political events, symbolizing authority and legitimacy.
The Korean Central News Agency reported on Saturday that Mr. Kim presented new sniper rifles to senior party and military officials, describing the move as a sign of gratitude and “absolute trust,” without mentioning Mr. Choe.
He then visited a shooting range with other officials, where he fired a rifle and posed for a group photo.
South Korea’s intelligence agency announced this month that North Korea appears to have begun the process of naming Choe as leader Kim’s successor.
Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP that the photos “actually suggest that she is being trained to be her successor” by highlighting Choe’s weapon handling and firing abilities.
KCNA announced on Saturday that Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, will become the party’s general affairs director. Analysts have described the role as similar to that of a party secretary general.
The Kim family has ruled North Korea with iron power for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their “Baekdu bloodline” dominates daily life in the isolated country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)