North Korea's missile tests Sunday signal the country likely will conduct provocative weapons testing activities during the U.S.-South Korean drills that are to run for 11 days.
Questions about the dynastic ruler's children and possible succession scenario arose with the apparent second child's repeated appearances in public in public in recent months.
North Korea said Sunday its latest intercontinental ballistic missile test was meant to further bolster its "fatal" nuclear attack capacity against its rivals.
North Korea fired a long-range missile into the sea off Japan a day after it threatened to take strong measures against South Korea and the U.S. over their joint military exercises.
His young daughter Kim Ju Ae also attended. Some observers interpret this as Kim's message that nuclear weapons will protect future generations of North Koreans.
Some experts say Kim Jong Un's push to make more nukes and new weapons systems reflects his hopes to solidify future negotiating power as he heads into prolonged tensions with the U.S. and its allies.
Tensions rose earlier this week when South Korea accused North Korea of flying five drones across the border for the first time in five years and responded by sending its own drones toward the North.
North Korean hackers have stolen an estimated $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency and other virtual assets in the past five years, more than half of it this year alone, South Korea's spy agency says.