North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a military parade on Wednesday where the country's military showcased its intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and other weapons. He was also seen with his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, which fuelled speculations that she is being positioned as the successor. However, this was not the only highlight of the event. The leader's wife, Ri Sol Ju, was photographed wearing a missile pendant at a banquet to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Korean People's Army in Pyongyang, North Korea.
According to the BBC, the necklace featured a pendant in the form of a Hwasong-17 ICBM, North Korea's heaviest missile that was test-fired last year. Many social media users have referred the necklace as "nuke-lace". A solid-fuel ICBM would make the nation's nuclear missiles more evasive to detection and destruction in times of war, making it a long-standing national priority.
Kim Jong-un's wife at the banquet a day before military parade. (Reuters Photo)
Korean Central News Agency reported the parade stressed North Korea's ability to face down its enemies "nuke for nuke, confrontation for confrontation".
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At a pre-parade banquet with military chiefs, Kim Ju-ae was pictured taking centre stage while seated between the North Korean leader and his wife, a position normally reserved for her father. While some analysts believe Ju-ae to be Mr Kim's heir apparent, others believe the government may be trying to portray the North Korean leader as a "family guy" by making this claim, as per the BBC report.
The outlet further adds that Kim Jong Un is the father of at least three kids, including an older son and a younger daughter. Ju-ae is considered his second child, as per BBC. In November 2022, she made her first public appearance when she accompanied her father to witness a significant ICBM launch.
