Kim Jong-un's daughter did not sit in the first row at this ceremony in North Korea
2024-08-07
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According to North Korean media reports, after personally going to northern North Korea to deploy flood relief work, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a handover ceremony for a new tactical ballistic missile weapon system in Pyongyang on August 4. This was the largest handover of a new missile launcher in North Korean official reports, and it was also the first collective appearance of Kim Jong-un, his sister, and his daughter after the South Korean media recently hyped up topics such as "Kim Yo-jong's status."
On August 4, Kim Jong-un attended the handover ceremony of the new tactical ballistic missile weapon system and delivered a speech. Kim Jong-un's daughter is on the right. Photo/Labor News
The Korean Central News Agency did not specifically release photos of Kim Jong-un's daughter attending the ceremony, but the footage broadcast by North Korea Central Television showed that Kim Jong-un and his daughter arrived together in the Arus stretch limousine presented by Russian President Vladimir Putin and walked into the venue hand in hand. When Kim Jong-un listened to the explanation of the People's Army officers in front of the missile launcher, Kim Jong-un's daughter, dressed in blue, was beside him and was photographed chatting and laughing with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong also attended the event and bowed and smiled to guide Kim Jong-un's daughter, who followed Kim Jong-un onto the reviewing stand. However, unlike some previous public events, this time, Kim Jong-un's daughter did not sit in the first row of the reviewing stand with her father, but sat in the second row with Kim Yo-jong and Choe Son-hui.
On August 4, Kim Jong-un and his daughter left the ceremony after the handover ceremony of the new tactical ballistic missile weapon system. Photo/Screenshot of the report by North Korea Central Television
The TV screen also showed that in addition to traditional items such as awarding military flags, reviewing the launch vehicle formation, and military band and honor guard performances, this ceremony was unique and included live band performances, drone light shows, and fireworks performances, like a fashion show. However, the lively atmosphere on the scene cannot conceal the seriousness of this ceremony and its important significance to the development of North Korea's military power. Improving the diversification of missile launch platforms, enhancing the actual combat survivability of missile forces, and having the possibility of real counterattack in the face of the US military's "one-time nuclear strike" are the top priorities of North Korea's military development in recent years.
On August 4, a handover ceremony for the new tactical ballistic missile weapon system was held in Pyongyang. Photo/Labor News
Among them, missile launchers were once regarded by the outside world as North Korea's "bottleneck project". From 2020 to 2022, North Korea's "Hwasong-17" missile launchers appeared in military parades four times, but only four vehicles appeared each time. The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, a professional think tank on nuclear weapons in the United States, believes in its report that this reflects North Korea's lack of ability to manufacture heavy launchers.
Since then, Kim Jong-un has inspected strategic weapons rack factories and tactical missile launcher rack factories many times, and explicitly demanded that "all-out efforts be made to produce high-quality North Korean-style launcher racks and unconditionally complete the production targets proposed at the Eighth National Congress of the Party as planned." In February 2023, North Korea displayed more than 10 "Hwasong-17" missile launchers at one time during the military parade, causing the outside world to exclaim that North Korea's strategic nuclear weapons carriers had achieved the goal of "doubling".
Regarding the 250 tactical missile launchers delivered by North Korea at one time, Yonhap News Agency analyzed that these launchers are likely to be the carriers of the short-range ballistic missile "Hwasong-11 Ding" and will be deployed near the military demarcation line between North and South Korea. The Korean Central News Agency also clearly stated that the recipients of the weapons are "the front-line troops of the Republic's border." The ceremony also revealed that North Korea has newly established several missile troops, and Kim Jong-un personally awarded military flags to the commanders of the troops. In the footage of the Central Television of North Korea, the shots of the military flags of the relevant troops were all censored.
Kim Jong-un said in his speech at the ceremony that the handover ceremony was held at a time when the whole country of North Korea was struggling to fight floods and disaster relief, which showed North Korea's "firm will to continuously strengthen the national defense force, which is the fundamental guarantee for protecting the people and safeguarding sovereignty under any circumstances." He stressed that North Korea will try to contain all nuclear threats from the enemy in the shortest possible time and build a more complete and higher-level nuclear force posture for self-defense.
In May 2024, Kim Jong-un and his daughter attended the completion ceremony of Pyongyang Qianwei Street. Photo/Labor News
Analysts believe that after completing its plan to double its strategic nuclear weapons, facing the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula and the situation where South Korea and the United States are conducting military exercises closer to the military demarcation line, North Korea's large-scale display of its tactical weapons launch platform construction results is a corresponding action to balance the "close deterrence" between South Korea and the United States.
However, Kim Jong-un also left room for easing the situation. He said that only with strong power can there be real peace. Dialogue and confrontation are both options for North Korea, but it should be prepared for confrontation. "Whether it is dialogue or confrontation, building a strong military force is an obligation and right that a sovereign state cannot give up for a moment or even a step."
Reporter: Cao Ran
