Kim Jong Un's Daughter Begins Public Role, Tests Sniper Rifle

Jakarta — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presented new-generation sniper rifles to senior party and military officials, which they have described as “exceptional” weapons and a sign of the trust he has bestowed upon them.

The North Korean news agency KCNA reported that the distribution took place during a ceremony commemorating the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea on Friday. During this occasion, Kim met with senior cadres and military commanders, each receiving a sniper rifle of a new generation developed by the state’s defence science academy.

“As previously publicised, the new-generation sniper rifles developed and produced by our Defence Science Academy are truly exceptional weapons,” Kim said, according to Reuters on Saturday, 28 February 2026.

Recipients of the gift included members of the Party’s Central Military Commission, senior commanders of the Korean People’s Army, security guards, and Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong, whom KCNA identified for the first time as director of the General Affairs Department of the Party’s Central Committee.

Photographs released by KCNA showed Kim’s teenage daughter, known as Ju Ae, attending the award ceremony and aiming a sniper rifle at a firing range.

Ju Ae, believed to be in her teenage years, has increasingly appeared in state media, accompanying her father on field guidance visits, including inspections of weapons projects. However, analysts have begun speculating that she is being groomed as the fourth-generation leader of the country.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) assesses that her public profile indicates she has begun offering policy input and is being treated as a de facto second-highest leader.

KCNA also released photographs showing Kim Yo Jong holding a sniper rifle alongside Hyon Song Wol, a senior aide to the North Korean leader who is known to be close to Kim Jong Un’s wife. North Korea concluded the Ninth Congress with a week-long military parade.