This week, the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shared drinks, watched missile parades, and dined with senior army leaders in the spotlight alongside her father and mother at critical military events.
Her appearance has fueled rumors that she may be in line for a leadership role or possibly the top post in the hereditary dictatorship of the nuclear-armed nation.
Kim Jong Un Appeared With Rumored Successor
State television portrayed her marching behind Kim Jong Un and her mother, Ri Sol Ju, at the head of military leaders, drinking juice together and whispering in each other's ears as they witnessed the parade.
A day earlier, Ri and the daughter were again with Kim at an opulent luncheon celebrating this week's army founding anniversary. South Korean intelligence authorities think she is the daughter identified as Ju Ae by former American basketball star Dennis Rodman, who spent time with Kim's family in 2013.
The youngster has not been named in state media since she was initially shown attending a missile launch with Kim last year, as per SCMP.
Rachel Minyoung Lee, a North Korea expert with the Vienna-based Open Nuclear Network, opined that it is premature to conclude that Ju Ae is being groomed for a leadership position. However, she concurred that her presence at exclusively military events suggests that the primary objective is to emphasize the significance of continued weapons development for future generations' security.
According to North Korea's state news agency Korean Central News Agency, the procession wheeled ballistic missiles and missile launchers for two hours with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials in attendance.
Near the end of the parade, North Korea's freshly constructed "tactical nuclear units" were displayed for the first time, exhibiting "war deterrent and counter-strike capabilities," according to official Korean media.
Most of the missiles on display were unidentified, but military experts noted the presence of solid-propellant and intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, which North Korea has been diligently developing. As per ABC News, solid propellants can significantly reduce the time required to refuel a missile on a real battlefield.
The largest of North Korea's missiles, the Hwasong-17, was disclosed by satellite photographs from the American space company Maxar Technologies. Experts fear that if North Korea's claims are true, it can launch a nuclear attack anywhere globally.
During a briefing, Lee Sung-jun, spokesman for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that the South Korean military had detected a "substantial increase of troops and vehicles" in regions associated with parade rehearsals. However, he declined to provide a date estimate.
Lee stated that the South Korean military was closely watching North Korea's likely formation of a new missile-related military office but did not disclose any specifics. According to some observers, the new agency may be responsible for developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
North Korea Shows Off Military Weapons
Kim Jong Un's remarks at the military gathering are Pyongyang's latest warning that it is poised to boost its military shows after a year of unprecedented missile tests. The warnings are partly a reaction to the United States' growing military exercises with South Korea, which the allies say are intended to address the North's rising threat, as per Business Mirror.
Last week, North Korea warned to punish US military maneuvers with "the most overwhelming nuclear force" in response to US plans to increase its joint drill with South Korea and deploy more modern military assets such as bombers and aircraft carriers in the region.
North Korea launched more than seventy ballistic missiles in 2022, including possibly nuclear-capable missiles aimed to hit South Korean targets or reach the United States mainland.
In response to the renewed US military drills with South Korea, which had been scaled back before the Trump administration, North Korea staged a series of what it characterized as simulated nuclear assaults on South Korean and US sites.
During a major political conference in December, Kim Jong Un called for an "exponential increase" in the nation's nuclear warheads, the mass production of battlefield tactical nukes aimed at South Korea, and the development of more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States.
According to experts, the purpose of Kim Jong Un's weapons tests and threats is to compel Washington to recognize North Korea as a nuclear state, which Pyongyang views as a means to negotiate economic and political concessions from a position of strength.
Nonetheless, there are indications that the price of Kim's expanding nuclear aspirations is mounting. State-run media in North Korea said on Monday that the governing Workers' Party had set a plenary meeting of its powerful Central Committee for later this month to discuss the "urgent challenge" of boosting agricultural production in the face of intensifying economic isolation.
According to some analysts, the nation's food insecurity is likely at its highest since the 1990s, when a horrific famine claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Since 2019, diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang has been stuck, with the two parties continuing to disagree on US-led economic sanctions against the North and the North's nuclear program.
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