North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter made a rare public appearance at a military banquet marking the 75th founding anniversary of the North Korean army on Tuesday — fueling speculation that she will become his eventual successor.
His daughter’s fourth known public appearance comes before what is expected to be North Korea’s biggest military parade yet. The celebration, taking place in the capital, Pyongyang, comes amid bubbling tension with the US over military missile testing on the Korean Peninsula.
Photos released by the state Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday show Kim Ju Ae, who is believed to be about 9 or 10 years old, seated front and center — instead of her father. The middle school-aged girl stood closely with her father as he shook the hands of senior officials and sat next to him at the lavish event.
The young girl’s hair was styled similarly to her mother’s, first lady Ri Sol Ju. She wore a black suit jacket and white dress shirt, just like her father, however, paired the look with a black skirt and sensible shoes.
Analysts have suggested that Kim’s decision brings his daughter to public events tied to his military to show the world he has no intentions of voluntarily surrendering his nuclear weapons, which he apparently sees as the strongest guarantee that the Kim family’s rule will continue.
State media described Kim Ju Ae as “respected” and “beloved,” further fueling the belief that she is being groomed as her father’s replacement.
She was also recently seen at a flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile in November and has since accompanied her father to a meeting with military scientists and an inspection of ballistic missiles.
Kim also visited the lodging quarters of the Korean People’s Army’s general officers with his daughter, KCNA said Wednesday. He later praised his troops at a banquet for maintaining the “strongest army in the world” despite external difficulties.
Wednesday’s festivities came a day after Kim presided over a meeting with his top officials and called for an expansion of combat exercises intended to boost war readiness, even as persistent missile tests cause tension with his neighbors and the US.
During his speech, Kim said it was his “greatest honor” and delight to be the supreme commander of an army that is “fulfilling (the) call of the times and history as the strongest army in the world.”
Reports on Kim’s visit to troops made no mention of any comments he made regarding Washington or Seoul, but Pyongyang’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial that the North’s military was set to meet enemy threats with a “super strong strike of unimaginable might to wipe out the origins of provocations without a trace.”
The newspaper said North Korea’s elevated weapons tests and combat exercises last year were successful demonstrations of “overwhelming military might.”
North Korea hasn’t confirmed plans for a military parade, which could possibly take place later Wednesday.
Residents in Pyongyang spent the anniversary visiting the city’s Mansu Hill, where they laid flowers and paid respect to the statues of their late leaders, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the grandfather and father of their ruler.
Commercial satellite images show the country has spent weeks preparing for the event, which will involve massive numbers of troops and civilians and will serve as a means to glorify Kim Jong Un’s rule and cement the country’s status as a nuclear power.
North Korea is also facing deepening economic isolation and food shortages, a sign that the costs of Kim’s nuclear ambitions are piling up.
North Korea had a record year in testing weapons, including missiles designed to strike targets in South Korea and the US.
During a major political conference in December, Kim called for an “exponential increase” of the country’s nuclear warheads, mass production of battlefield tactical nukes targeting “enemy” South Korea and the development of more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the continental United States.
Aside of developmental tests, North Korea could also dial up its military demonstrations in response the United States’ expanding combined militarily exercises with South Korea, which the allies say are aimed at countering the North’s evolving threat.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry last week warned the country is preparing to counter US military moves with the “most overwhelming nuclear force” while condemning US plans to expand its joint exercise with South Korea and place more advanced military assets in the region.
