Kim Jong-un's Daughter Appears with Dictator at Test of Missile, Which Japan Warns Could Reach U.S.

Office of the North Korean government press service/UPI/Shutterstock

North Korean dictator Kim Jon-un revealed his daughter for the first time Friday, as they oversaw the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released photos of the leader, who it says watched the launch with his "beloved daughter" and wife Ri Sol Ju. The "new" Hwasong-17 missile launched from Pyongyang International Airfield flew 999.2 kilometers, or 621 miles, CNN reports citing the KCNA.

North Korea's latest missile landed about 210 kilometers, or 130 miles, west of Japan's Oshima–Ōshima, and it appeared to have the ability to reach the U.S., Japanese officials said, per CNN.

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Office of the North Korean government press service/UPI/Shutterstock

Kim said via the KCNA that the test itself was in an effort to "clearly demonstrate" what he called "hysteric aggression war drills by the enemies seeking to destroy peace and stability in the Korean peninsula."

"Kim Jong-un solemnly declared that if the enemies continue to pose threats to the DPRK, frequently introducing nuclear strike means, our Party and government will resolutely react to nukes with nuclear weapons and to total confrontation with all-out confrontation," the KCNA shared, per CNN.

A missile launched in March previously saw the highest altitude and longest duration of any past North Korean missile test, reaching 6,248.5 kilometers in altitude and 1,090 kilometers of distance. The dictator has also previously claimed to be prepared for "actual war" in October when he said in a KCNA release that North Korea "proved again their full preparedness for actual war to bring the enemies under their control."

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Office of the North Korean government press service/UPI/Shutterstock

Friday's launch marked the first time photos of Kim's child have been released, as NPR reports that he and his wife have three children who were born in 2010, 2013 and 2017. Back in 2013, basketball star Dennis Rodman told the Guardian that he had a "relaxing time by the sea" with Kim and his family as he held Kim's daughter, Ju Ae, sharing the one child's name for the first time.

"It's much too soon to infer anything about succession within the Kim regime," Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told NPR. "However, publicly including his wife and daughter in what Kim claims as a historically successful missile test associates the family business of ruling North Korea with the nation's missile programs."

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While Kim hasn't yet publicly anointed an heir apparent, some believe his daughter's appearance could signal that she'd eventually become Kim's successor. Analyst Cheong Seong-Chang of Sejong Institute in South Korea told NPR that "the children of Kim Jong-un would have the status of a prince or princess, like in a dynasty" under the current system in North Korea.

"As the Rodong Sinmnum newspaper publicized the photo of the daughter, who took after Kim Jong-un and Ri Sol Ju so much ... she has no choice but to live special lives," Cheong said. "... Kim Jong-un may have his daughter, who resembles him the most in his mind, as his successor."

Just last month, North Korea launched a missile over Japan, prompting officials to urge Japanese residents to take shelter. It was the first to fly over the country in five years, and eventually landed in the Pacific Ocean, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, per The New York Times.

"North Korea's series of actions, including its repeated ballistic missile launches, threatens the peace and security of Japan, the region, and the international community, and poses a serious challenge to the entire international community, including Japan," Matsuno said, per multiple outlets.