Teen Daughter Of North Korean Leader Kim Drives A Tank While Observing Drill With Her Father

SEOUL, South Korea — The teenage girl of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has driven a vessel during service training supervised by her father, nan pair’s latest associated nationalist quality fueling extracurricular speculation that nan woman is groomed arsenic Kim’s heir.

The charismatic Korean Central News Agency reported Friday that Kim oversaw an violative tactical drill involving vessel units and infantry troops a time earlier and called for completing warfare preparations.

Video and images released by authorities media showed Kim’s girl sticking her caput retired of nan driver’s hatch of a moving, oliva greenish vessel while her smiling begetter sat connected apical pinch 3 soldiers.

Observers opportunity nan girl’s position intelligibly showed she was driving nan armored vehicle, her first specified activity. But they statement modern tanks are not technically analyzable to pilot, particularly while moving slow for a little time.

“She only drove consecutive astatine a debased speed. It’s besides easy to thrust modern tanks, and I deliberation it was easier for her to thrust arsenic she was connected a level ground,” said Lee Illwoo, an master pinch nan Korea Defense Network successful South Korea.

The girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and aged astir 13, has accompanied her begetter to a number of high-profile subject and different events since precocious 2022. North Korean authorities media has called her Kim Jong Un’s “most beloved” aliases “respected” kid and published footage and photos indicating nan two’s closeness.

They precocious fired pistols during a sojourn to a ray munitions mill and watched a live-fire trial of aggregate rocket motorboat systems. In September, nan woman went to Beijing pinch her father. During New Years’ Day celebrations she kissed him connected nan cheek.

South Korea’s spy agency assessed past period Kim Jong Un was adjacent to designating her arsenic his heir. Some experts disagree pinch that assessment, citing Kim Jong Un’s comparatively young property and nan highly male-dominated quality of North Korea’s powerfulness hierarchy.

The North Korean training, meanwhile, came arsenic nan U.S. and South Korea were engaged successful their yearly subject exercises that North Korea views arsenic an penetration rehearsal. The U.S. and South Korea wrapped up their 11-day computer-simulated bid station workout connected Thursday, but they are still continuing section training.

Kim writes for nan Associated Press.