Kim Jong-un seen in public with his daughter, speculations are rife on her future

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is believed to have as many as three children, one of them is a girl who appeared alongside Kim and he referred to her as his "beloved daughter." Her name is Ju Ae and she appears to be aged 12 to 13, although some think she could be as young as nine. She appeared in public twice in a matter of days. Her father dropped hints that she could be a successor in the making or could be trained for a leadership position. The father-daughter duo posed for photos with soldiers, scientists and others involved in this month's Hwasong-17 missile launch. On this occasion the leader reportedly said - "It is the truth taught by history that only when we become the strongest - not the weak - in the present world where the strength in showdown just decides victory, can we defend the present and future of the country and nation." Kim Jong Un's daughter appears in public for second time - raising speculation of a successor in the making. The leader added – “scientists and technicians should "make a do-or-die struggle... and thus expand and bolster up the nuclear war deterrent of the country at an exceptionally rapid speed."

The photos released by the North Korean government did not indicate any date. Moreover, independent journalists did not have any access to the event. The KCNA described it as a "photo session." Incidentally, the Hwasong-17 is North Korea's most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, and it underwent tests earlier this month. In the opinion of some experts, the weapon had the potential to strike anywhere on the US mainland. Kim Jong-un boasted that the ICBM was a "reliable and maximum-capacity" weapon to contain US military threats. The second appearance of Kim’s daughter has raised speculation that she could be a successor in the making. Analysts believe it would be an unprecedented uphill struggle for her in the male-dominated dynasty of North Korea.

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North Korea fires hundreds of artillery shells in retaliation to annual defense drills of the South

South Korea conducted its annual defense drills. The aim of such drills is to boost its ability to respond to nuclear and missile threats of Pyongyang. This has not gone down well with the North. It retaliated by firing hundreds of artillery shells off its eastern and western coasts and said the shells did not land in South Korean territorial waters. They instead fell inside maritime buffer zones the two Koreas established under a 2018 inter-Korean agreement aimed at reducing front-line animosities. This is the second such incident. North Korea carried out a similar exercise recently in direct violation of the 2018 agreement. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed this. He said that North Korea fired some 250 shells of its eastern and western coasts late on Tuesday and launched an additional 100 rounds, starting at around midday on Wednesday. In a statement he said - “We strongly urge North Korea to immediately halt its actions. North Korea’s continued provocations are actions that undermine peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the international community.” N Korea fires artillery shells in ‘grave warning’ to Seoul.

A spokesperson for the North Korean People’s Army (KPA) explained that the purpose of firing the shots was designed to send a “grave warning” to South Korea in response to its own artillery training. These took place earlier in an eastern border region. Seoul did not immediately confirm this. The Hoguk drills of the South are due to end soon. These are the latest in a series of military exercises conducted in recent weeks and include joint activities with the United States and Japan. Incidentally, the artillery tests of the North attracts less outside attention than its missile launches. However, its forward-deployed long-range artillery guns pose a serious security threat to the populous metropolitan region of its neighbor. This is because its location is about 25 to 30 miles from the border with North Korea and a matter of concern.

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