North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presented new sniper rifles to senior military and high-ranking party members as a sign of trust, Reuters reported, citing the state news agency KCNA.
Kim met with senior cadres and commanding officers at the headquarters of the Workers' Party of Korea. He presented each of them with a new-generation rifle developed by the country's Academy of Defense Sciences.
The gifts were presented on the occasion of the Ninth Party Congress. Among those receiving the gifts were members of the party's Central Military Commission, senior commanders of the Korean People's Army and Guard units, as well as Kim's sister, Kim Yo-jong.
Ju Ae, the North Korean leader's daughter, believed to be in her early teens, has become increasingly prominent in state media, accompanying her father on field trips, including inspections of weapons projects, amid speculation by analysts that she is being portrayed as the country's fourth-generation leader.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) believes her public role shows she has begun to make political contributions and is being treated as the de facto second-in-command.