North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s younger sister Kim Yo Jong appeared in the official observation area beside him during a missile test on Tuesday, according to photos released by state media, the first time she has occupied such a prominent position at a launch.

One expert told NK News the move signals Kim Yo Jong’s growing influence in military affairs, but not necessarily a change in her official job title. 

“It means at the very least that Kim Jong Un is publicly elevating and broadening her scope and her reach,” Sung-Yoon Lee, professor of Korean studies at Tufts University,