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Kim Jong Un attended a nighttime parade on Feb. 8 in celebration of the North Korean Army's 75th anniversary, with his daughter and presumptive heir in tow.

Kims on parade

According to Yonhap, Kim attended the nighttime parade in North Korea's capital of Pyongyang.

There the North Korean military showed off a range of its military forces, from several formations of infantry to ballistic missiles, including its newest Hwasong-17 missile.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the first launch of the Hwasong-17 missile was also where Kim's daughter was first seen in public with him in November 2022.

The Washington Post has named her as Kim Ju Ae, saying that the Rodong Sinmun, a North Korean newspaper, has for the first time identified her as Kim Jong Un's "respected daughter".

She is believed to be around 12 to 13 years old, and Kim's second child.

Kim Jong Un's daughter and wife both joined him to observe the parade, pictures show: pic.twitter.com/pKweX4xQW9

— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) February 9, 2023

Kim Ju Ae was seen in official pictures attending a banquet with senior North Korean Military leaders, along with North Korean first lady Ri Sol Ju.

The Washington Post said that this appearance is the "clearest sign yet" that Kim Ju Ae is Kim Jong Un's presumptive heir.

But it also notes that North Korean society is "highly patriarchal" and its is not clear that a female leader will be accepted.

The Kim family has ruled North Korea for three successive generations, with Kim's grandfather Kim Il Sung being venerated throughout the country.

The Washington Post also picked up an obscure piece of trivia.

According to the Guardian, when NBA star Dennis Rodman visited North Korea in 2013, he said he "held their baby Ju Ae", and it appears that baby will one day take over the family business.

They asked Dennis Rodman if he had a choice of living in Utah or North Korea and he chose… pic.twitter.com/nLPu7lh8YE

— Vernon Maxwell (@VernonMaxwell11) June 17, 2021

Launch party

North Korea, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as it is officially known, has been undergoing a nuclearisation effort that has seen it attain both nuclear warheads and long range ballistic missiles with which to launch them.

There have been numerous attempts to halt such development, including a much lauded series of summits that saw then United States President Donald Trump meeting Kim Jong Un in Singapore and Vietnam.

However such diplomatic attempts have thus far borne no fruit, and last November's missile test is the latest testament to that.

North Korea's neighbour and ally China has also at times expressed condemnation towards North Korean nuclear test.

Despite this, Kim's regime has shown no indication of slowing down its military testing, and seems adamant that it will continue well into Kim's daughter's presumptive reign.

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Top image via NK News/Twitter