Kim Ju-ae (center), daughter of Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, applauds during the military parade held at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang on the 25th to mark the 9th Congress of the Workers Party. Yonhap News

North Korea held a parade marking the 9th Congress of the Workers Party centered on personnel, without weapons or equipment. Kim Ju-ae, daughter of Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, also attended. There had been expectations that the congress would formalize a succession framework for Ju-ae, but North Korean media did not mention any official title for her during this period.

According to military authorities and others on the 26th, about 15,000 troops were mobilized for the parade held the previous night. This was similar in scale to the one held last year. The Korean Central News Agency reported that 50 marching formations on foot from various services, arms, and specialized units, along with an aerial parade formation, took part.

North Korea was said to have refrained from deploying weapons and equipment in this parade. At the parade in October last year marking the 80th anniversary of the Party founding, it mobilized more than 16,000 personnel and 12 categories and over 60 pieces of equipment. Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said, “From the North Korean standpoint, a parade can create an image of internal unity, but it would have been physically difficult to stage another parade with weapons and equipment only four months later.”

Ju-ae attended the parade with Ri Sol-ju and, together with Kim, took a central seat on the reviewing stand. Both Kim and Ju-ae wore leather coats, and Ju-ae sat with Kim at the center of the reviewing stand. She was also seen applauding while listening to the speech by Kim.

Earlier, her repeated appearances at major state events had prompted analysis that the leadership sought to solidify a succession structure. North Korean media have intensively reported scenes of Ju-ae accompanying Kim not only on military schedules but also at livelihood, economic, diplomatic, and cultural events. Some interpret this as an attempt to highlight her image as a next leader. Recently, the National Intelligence Service also stated that it assesses she has entered the stage of being designated as successor.

However, some assess that it is premature to conclude she is in the designation stage, noting that North Korean media did not separately mention any official position for Ju-ae during the congress. Typically, once a succession structure becomes visible, procedures to institutionalize it follow, such as granting official posts, but this stage has not yet been reached. In addition, because under the Workers Party rules only those aged 18 or older can join, some argue it is early to evaluate Ju-ae, who is not yet eligible for party membership, as being in the designation stage.