SEOUL, March 12 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a munitions factory on Wednesday, state media KCNA reported, releasing photographs that showed him touring the facility with his teenage daughter and the pair test-firing handguns.
During the visit, Kim oversaw firearms production and called for modernisation of the process, KCNA said.
The factory is “playing a very important role in increasing the combat efficiency of the army,” Kim was quoted as saying.
He emphasised a need to expand the production capacity of the factory “in a far-sighted way,” according to KCNA.
Kim, who frequently tries to show off the nuclear-armed state’s military prowess, was recently shown overseeing the test-firing of a strategic cruise missile on a newly launched destroyer, according to KCNA.
Kim’s daughter, known as Ju Ae, accompanied her father during the visit to the munitions factory, state media photographs showed. They were both clad in black leather jackets, with Ju Ae shown participating in a shooting drill alongside military officials.
There has been speculation that Ju Ae is being groomed as a potential leadership successor.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) last month told lawmakers there were signs that Kim’s daughter was providing input on policy matters, reflecting that she “was in the stage of being internally appointed successor.”
(Reporting by Heejin Kim; Editing by Chris Reese, Ed Davies)
