This picture taken on February 27, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on February 28, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) firing a new sniper rifle with his daughter Kim Ju Ae , at an undisclosed place in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP) / South Korea OUT / SOUTH KOREA OUT / ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. /

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un firing a new sniper rifle with daughter Kim Ju Ae somewhere in North Korea.
Photo: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP

North Korea has released a rare image of leader Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor.

Kim’s daughter, Ju Ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including this week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress.

Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju Ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope with her finger on the trigger, smoke rising from the barrel.

She wore what appeared to be a leather jacket, a garment often worn by both her and her father at major political events, symbolising authority and legitimacy.

KCNA reported on Saturday (local time) that Kim presented new sniper rifles to senior party and military officials, describing the move as a gesture of appreciation and “absolute trust”, without mentioning Ju Ae.

He then visited a shooting range with the officials, where he fired the rifle and took a group photo, it added.

This picture taken on February 27, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on February 28, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's daughter Kim Ju Ae firing a new sniper rifle, at an undisclosed place in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP) / South Korea OUT / SOUTH KOREA OUT / ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. /

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae, firing a new sniper rifle somewhere in North Korea.
Photo: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP

This month, South Korea’s spy agency said that Pyongyang appeared to have started the process of designating Ju Ae as leader Kim’s successor.

By underscoring Ju Ae’s ability to handle and fire a weapon, the photos “suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor”, Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.

KCNA also said Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, would head the party’s general affairs department – a role analysts described as akin to a party secretary-general.

The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades and a cult of personality surrounding their ‘Paektu bloodline’ dominates daily life in the isolated country.

– AFP