February 9 – About a dozen long-range ICBMs were on display at the military parade on Wednesday.
Leader Kim Jong-un was seen at the midnight parade with his young daughter held high at his side.
Kim Ju-ae’s appearance has fueled speculation that she is being positioned as the successor.
The number of long-range missiles on display at the parade has raised concerns. Analysts say such a number of missiles, which can theoretically hit as far as the US mainland, could potentially overwhelm US nuclear defenses if each missile carried multiple warheads.
North Korean media did not provide details, but said the arsenal demonstrated the country’s “powerful deterrence and counterwar capabilities.”
Images released by North Korean media on Thursday morning appeared to show more than a dozen ICBMs rolling through Pyongyang’s central square, accompanied by an army of foot soldiers.
Some North Korean analysts said the display also included a new ICBM launcher that appeared designed to accommodate a solid-fuel missile.
Solid fuel missiles can be launched more quickly than liquid fuel missiles, which are difficult to defend against.
However, the Kim regime has never successfully tested long-range solid fuel missiles.
“This is one of North Korea’s main nuclear modernization goals,” said Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“We should expect to see the first flight tests of longer-range solid-fuel missiles in the coming months,” he told the BBC.
He added that the expansion of North Korea’s ICBM arsenal potentially presented “serious military planning challenges” for the United States in a conflict, as it would be difficult for the United States to find and destroy all of North Korea’s mobile ICBMs. .
The parade comes after a record year of missile tests by North Korea in violation of UN economic sanctions. That has led to several outbreaks of tension on the Korean peninsula.
The state Korean Central News Agency reported that the parade emphasized the country’s ability to confront its enemies “nuke for nuke, confrontation for confrontation.”
The released footage showed Kim dressed in a black coat and fedora inspecting rows of soldiers with bayonets and saluting as troops and missile units paraded.
He was also photographed watching the parade from a balcony with Ju-ae by his side.
Ju-ae’s uplift, believed to be about 10 years old, has been another key talking point for observers.
State media photos showed her center stage at a pre-parade banquet with military leaders, where she was seated in the center between Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju, a place usually given to her father.
The trio were photographed smiling and flanked by senior military commanders. Ms. Ri was also seen wearing a necklace with a pendant in the shape of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, North Korea’s largest missile that was test-launched last year.
While some analysts say this points to Ju-ae as Kim’s heir apparent, others say the state may be portraying the North Korean leader as a “family man.”
“The inclusion of Kim’s daughter at the banquet was hard to miss. North Korean state propagandists clearly try to portray Kim Jong-un as a family man, but the reported exclusion of his other daughter is curious.” said Martyn Williams, a senior official. Fellow at the Stimson Center focusing on North Korea.
Kim Jong-un reportedly has at least three children, including an older son and a younger daughter. Ju-ae is believed to be his second child.
She only made her first public appearance three months ago in November, when her father took her to a major intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
While succession positioning may ultimately be the case, it is “too early” to draw a conclusion, Williams told the BBC.
Panda said Ju-ae’s prominence in recent months could indicate that Kim hopes his country’s nuclear venture will become a multi-generational affair.
