North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his little daughter are the stars of a grand military parade, sparking speculation that the girl is preparing to become the future leader of an isolated nation, and her father is the newest and greatest nuclear powerhouse.
A parade in the capital Pyongyang on Wednesday night showcased the latest arsenal of Kim Jong-un’s growing nuclear arsenal, with experts saying the new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile Kim Jong-un may test in the coming months. Missiles were also introduced.
The missile is one of 12 intercontinental ballistic missiles deployed by Kim Jong-un’s forces at events in the capital Pyongyang.
The unprecedented numbers highlight Kim Jong-un’s continued expansion of military capabilities despite limited resources amid mounting tensions with neighbors and the United States.
The parade was the fifth public appearance of Kim Jong-un’s second child, daughter Kim Joo-ae, who is believed to be around the age of 10. Kim Jong-un, accompanied by his daughter, visited the military on Tuesday, praising the “invincible power” of nuclear weapons.
State media have praised Kim Joo-ae’s role, calling her “respected” and “loved”, and in a photo released Tuesday, she sits at the head of the table surrounded by the general and her parents at a banquet.
A North Korean photo released Wednesday shows Kim Jong-un in a black coat and felt hat as he participates in a parade with his wife and daughter.
Kim smiled and raised his hand from the balcony as thousands of soldiers lined Kim Il Sung Square, named after his grandfather.
The parade marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s armed forces, and over the past few weeks swarms of military and civilian personnel have been mobilized to honor Kim Jong-un’s reign and his relentless efforts to solidify its status as a nuclear power. Preparations have been made.
Photos released by state media show a transport truck and launch pad carrying about 10 Hwaseong-17 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Last year’s flight test demonstrated that it could reach deep into the continental United States.
This missile was followed by a larger canister-enclosed missile mounted on a nine-axle vehicle.
Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said it could be a type of solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that North Korea has been trying to develop for years.
He added that the unprecedented number of Hwasong-17s paraded at Wednesday’s event signaled progress in efforts to mass-produce such weapons.
State media did not immediately say whether Kim Jong-un made a speech at the event.
The parade comes after Kim Jong-un met with the military’s top commander on Monday and ordered an expansion of combat training, an already provocative weapons demonstration amid heightened tensions with neighboring countries and Washington. It keeps escalating.
“This time, Kim Jong-un has expanded North Korea’s tactical and long-range missile forces,” said Leif Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
“Pyongyang’s international message of deterrence and coercion will probably come in the form of solid-fuel missile tests and miniaturized nuclear weapon detonations,” he said. He cited US and South Korean assessments that North Korea may be preparing its first nuclear test since September 2017.
North Korea’s official KCNA news agency confirmed that various nuclear-armed weapons, including tactical nukes aimed at South Korea, appeared at the parade.
The agency described the ICBM as a key weapon underpinning the ongoing “strength-to-strength, all-out confrontation” with the North’s adversaries.
South Korean and US forces are carefully analyzing North Korea’s photos and reports to assess weapons, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Seong-jun said at a briefing.
North Korea is having a record-breaking year of weapons testing, with dozens of missiles launched in 2022 including nuclear-armed systems designed to hit targets in South Korea and the US mainland.
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