North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, stands hand-in-hand with his daughter at a ballistic missile launch site at Pyongyang International Airport, Friday, in this photo provided by the Korean Central News Agency, the following day. Yonhap

Public debut of 'secret' daughter shows country's determination on nukes issue

By Kang Seung-woo

An unexpected appearance of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter indicates that he has no plans on giving up his nation's nuclear program, evidenced by his strong conviction in his arsenal of weapons, which can protect him from hostile forces, according to Pyongyang analysts, Sunday.

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released photos, Saturday, showing Kim hand-in-hand with his daughter at a missile launch site in Pyongyang, the previous day when the country successfully test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile ― the eighth launch this year alone ― traveled some 1,000 kilometers at an altitude of 6,100 kilometers, further ratcheting up tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Despite the successful launch of North Korea's largest and most powerful missile with a range capability allowing it to strike anywhere in the United States, it was overshadowed by the images of Kim's little-known daughter, leaving government officials here and analysts scrambling to analyze the meaning behind the dictator's daughter's first official appearance in state media.