Kenya Insights

Tag: Kim Jong-un

  • North Korea’s Kim Inspects New Destroyer, Vows Progress On Naval Nuclear Expansion

    North Korea’s Kim Inspects New Destroyer, Vows Progress On Naval Nuclear Expansion

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected his new destroyer for two consecutive days ahead of its commissioning and observed a test of cruise missiles fired from the warship, vowing to accelerate the nuclear armament of his navy, state media said on Thursday.

    The North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim, during his visits to the western shipyard of Nampo on Tuesday and Wednesday, also inspected the construction of a third destroyer of the same class as his 5,000‑ton warship, the Choe Hyon, first unveiled in April 2025.

    Kim has hailed the development of Choe Hyon as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and pre-emptive strike capabilities of his nuclear‑armed military. State media says the ship is designed to handle various weapons systems, including anti‑air and anti‑naval weapons, as well as nuclear‑capable ballistic and cruise missiles. South Korean military officials and experts say the Choe Hyon was likely built with Russian assistance amid deepening military ties, though some have raised doubts about whether it is ready for active service.

    North Korea unveiled a second destroyer of the same class in May last year, but it was damaged during a botched launching ceremony at the northeastern port of Chongjin, triggering a furious reaction from Kim, who called the failure “criminal”. North Korea has said the new destroyer, named Kang Kon, was relaunched in June after repairs, but outside experts have questioned whether the ship is fully operational.

    After observing Choe Hyon’s sea trials on Tuesday, Kim said the ship met operational requirements and called it a symbol of the country’s expanding naval capabilities. He called for building two warships a year over the next five years of the same or higher class as the Choe Hyon.

    This picture released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency shows a sea-to-surface strategic cruise missile test launch conducted on the destroyer Choe Hyon in North Korea on Wednesday [KCNA via Reuters]
    Kim returned on Wednesday to observe a test launch of cruise missiles from the Choe Hyon. State media published photos of him watching from shore as several projectiles rose from the vessel in plumes of white smoke and described the weapons as “strategic”, a term used for nuclear‑capable systems.

    After years of focusing on ballistic missile development, Kim has shifted more attention to naval capabilities, including the ongoing construction of a nuclear‑powered submarine. KCNA said the third destroyer under construction at the Nampo shipyard is expected to be completed by the ruling Workers’ Party’s founding anniversary in October.

    Naval capabilities were also a key focus when Kim outlined his five‑year military goals at last month’s Workers’ Party congress, which included calls for intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of being launched from underwater.

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    Kim claimed on Tuesday that his efforts to arm his navy with nuclear weapons were “making satisfactory” progress. He said these purported advancements would “constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century”.

    KCNA did not elaborate on what Kim meant. Some analysts suggest North Korea may be preparing to formally declare a maritime boundary that could encroach on waters controlled by rival South Korea.

    As inter‑Korean tensions worsen, Kim has repeatedly said he does not recognise the Northern Limit Line, drawn by the US‑led UN Command at the end of the 1950–53 Korean War. The poorly drawn western sea boundary has been the site of several deadly naval clashes in recent years.

    At the party congress, Kim doubled down on plans to expand North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, which already includes various weapons systems threatening the United States and its allies in Asia, while reaffirming his hardline stance toward South Korea.

    However, he left the door open for dialogue with the Donald Trump administration, reiterating Pyongyang’s demand that Washington drop its insistence on denuclearisation as a precondition for resuming long‑stalled talks.

    (FRANCE 24 with AP)

  • Kim Ju Ae: North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un Chooses Daughter as Heir, Seoul Says

    Kim Ju Ae: North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un Chooses Daughter as Heir, Seoul Says

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has selected his daughter as his heir, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday.

    Little is known about Kim Ju Ae, who in recent months has been pictured beside her father in high-profile events like a visit to Beijing in September- her first known trip abroad.

    The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it took a “range of circumstances” into account including her increasingly prominent public presence at official events” in making this assessment.

    The NIS also said it would keep close tabs on whether she will attend the North’s party congress later this month – its largest political event that is held once every five years.

    The party Congress is where Pyongyang is expected to give more details about priorities like foreign policy, war planning and nuclear ambitions for the next five years.

    On Thursday lawmaker Lee Seong-kwen told reporters that Ju Ae, who was previously described by the NIS as being “trained” to be a successor, was now at the stage of “successor designation”.

    “As Kim Ju Ae has shown her presence at various events, including the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army and her visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, and signs have been detected of her voicing her opinion on certain state policies, the NIS believes she has now entered the stage of being designated as successor,” Lee said.

    Ju Ae is the only known child of Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju. The NIS believes Kim Jong Un has an older son, but this son has never been acknowledged nor shown on North Korean media.

    News of Ju Ae’s existence first emerged through an unlikely source: the American basketball player Dennis Rodman, who revealed to The Guardian newspaper back in 2013 that he “held baby Ju Ae” during a trip to the secretive state.

    Ju Ae – who is believed to be 13 – made her first appearance on state television in 2022. She was shown inspecting North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile while holding her father’s hand.

    She has since made frequent appearances on on state media, softening her father’s image of a ruthless dictator. She accompanied him to Beijing for China’s largest-ever military parade, where she was seen stepping off his armoured train at Beijing Railway Station.

    She is often seen wearing her hair long, which is forbidden for her peers, and wearing designer clothes, which are out of reach for most in her country.

    Another lawmaker, Park Sun-won said the role Ju Ae had taken on during public events indicated that she has started to provide policy input and is being treated as the de facto second-highest leader.

    The North Korean power had passed down the three generations of the Kim family, and it is widely believed that Kim Jong Un will pass on the throne to Ju Ae.

    In recent months, she was shown standing taller than her father, walking beside him, rather than following him.

    In North Korea, where photos published by the state media are believed to carry a great symbolic weight, it is rare for individuals other than Kim Jong Un to be positioned equally prominently in the frame.

    Although the South Korean spy agency now believes Ju Ae is the designated heir, it still raises questions.

    It is puzzling why Ju Ae, a daughter, would be selected as the heir above an older son in North Korea’s deeply patriarchal society.

    Many defectors and analysts had previously dismissed the idea of a woman leading North Korea as an unlikely scenario, referring to the country’s entrenched traditional gender roles. But Kim Jong Un’s sister – Kim Yo Jong – does offer a precedent for female authority in the regime.

    Kim Yo Jong currently holds a senior position in the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, and is reported to have influence on her brother.

    However, it is also a mystery why Kim Jong Un, who is still young and appears relatively healthy, is already designating a 13-year-old child as an heir now.

    It is unclear what changes Ju Ae’s succession may bring to North Korea.

    Many North Koreans hoped that Kim Jong Un, a Western-educated young man, would open their country up to the outside when he succeeded his father.

    Yet such hope went unanswered. Whatever the plan this teenager will have for her country, she will have the singular power to shape it however she likes.

  • North Korea Is Building ’Invincible Military’ Kim Vows

    North Korea Is Building ’Invincible Military’ Kim Vows

    North Korea’s leader has vowed to build an “invincible military” in the face of hostile policies from the United States, according to state media.

    Kim Jong-un added that weapons development was for self-defence, and not to start a war.

    Kim made the comments at a rare defence exhibition while flanked by a variety of large missiles.

    North Korea has recently tested what it claims to be new hypersonic and anti-aircraft missiles.

    The South meanwhile has tested its own submarine-launched weapon.

    In his speech at the Self-Defence 2021 exhibition held in Pyongyang, which featured an array of military hardware including tanks, Kim addressed the military build-up in the South and said that North Korea did not want to fight its neighbour.

    “We are not discussing war with anyone, but rather to prevent war itself and to literally increase war deterrence for the protection of national sovereignty,” he said.

    Kim also accused the US of stoking tensions between North and South Korea.

    He added that there was “no behavioural basis” to make North Korea believe that the US was not hostile.

    North Korea leader Kim Jong-un attends the Self-Defence 2021 exhibition to mark the 76th birthday of the ruling Worker’s Party.

    The US under President Joe Biden has repeatedly said it is willing to talk to North Korea, but has demanded Pyongyang give up nuclear weapons before sanctions can be eased. North Korea has so far refused.

    North Korea is banned from testing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons by the UN. It has repeatedly flouted these bans and has been heavily sanctioned as a result.

    Last month, the UN atomic agency said North Korea appeared to have restarted a reactor which could produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, calling it a “deeply troubling” development.

    North Korea has always maintained that it needs to continue developing weapons for defence.

    But observers say it is also being used as a way to rally the impoverished country. North Korea is thought to be in dire economic straits after authorities shut borders to stop the spread of Covid-19.

    Crucial supplies like food and fuel have been cut off from China, North Korea’s main political and economic ally.