North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gave new sniper rifles to senior party and military officials after a weeklong Workers’ Party congress that celebrated his rule, and state media published images of his teenage daughter handling a rifle at a shooting range. The photographs and the gift have intensified speculation that Kim may be preparing his daughter as a successor.
State news agency KCNA said Kim presented the rifles to top figures as a sign of his “absolute trust” and gratitude for their loyalty since the previous five-year congress in 2021. Pictures released by state media showed senior officials, including Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong, taking aim at a firing range. The leader’s daughter, wearing a brown leather coat similar to her father’s, was shown firing a rifle, with smoke visible from the barrel.
Kim Yo Jong was promoted during the congress to general affairs director of the party’s central committee, a post that expands her authority over internal party operations and administration. She has in recent years been a prominent and forceful voice toward Washington and Seoul.
The young girl, widely believed to be Kim Ju Ae and thought to be about 13 years old, first appeared publicly at a long-range missile test in November 2022. Since then she has made more frequent appearances with her father at military demonstrations, factory openings and the September summit in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. South Korean officials and outside analysts closely monitored the congress for signs that Kim might be positioning his daughter as the next-generation leader; Seoul’s intelligence agency has assessed he is nearing a decision on an heir.
State media said she did not attend party meetings during the congress but stood beside her father at a military parade that closed the gathering. No formal party appointment for her was reported; party rules require members to be at least 18.
The seven-day congress, held every five years and staged to exalt Kim’s leadership, also reinforced pledges to accelerate North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and maintained a hard line on South Korea, while reiterating conditional openness to talks with the United States if Washington abandons denuclearization as a precondition. Analysts say any signals about succession are likely to be indirect and symbolic, conveyed through language stressing the regime’s continuity and longevity; state media framed the congress as strengthening the foundation for the party’s succession and development.
