North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, front, attends a performance in Pyongyang on July 27 commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, known in North Korea as Victory Day. Kim is accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju-ae, left, and his wife Ri Sol-ju, back row left.NEWS1
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un brought his daughter Kim Ju-ae to the forefront of Monday's ceremonies marking 73 years since the Korean War armistice, as Pyongyang staged a rare non-milestone-year parade widely seen as a show of regime unity.
North Korea calls July 27, 1953 — the day the armistice ending the 1950-53 Korean War was signed — "Victory Day," claiming it won the war against U.S.-led forces.
Unlike in previous years, when North Korea typically reserved military parades for anniversaries ending in five or zero, Pyongyang's parade this year was a spectacle, even though the 73rd anniversary was not a milestone.
Analysts say the large-scale mobilization was meant to rally support for the regime while normalizing Ju-ae's repeated public appearances, as the sustained exposure likely aimed at reducing resistance among North Koreans to both a female leader and a fourth-generation succession.
North Korean state media Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday called the parade a reflection of the younger generation's resolve to add new "great victories" to the "immortal feats of the victorious wartime generation" and to "usher in the era of building a prosperous power unprecedented in history."
The report was published with pictures of Kim attending a commemorative gala in Pyongyang on Monday, also marking the 73rd anniversary of the armistice, with Ju-ae by his side. Kim's wife, Ri Sol-ju, and military officials stood further back in the photos.
Ju-ae had also walked alongside her father the previous day during his visit to the Fatherland Liberation War Martyrs Cemetery, again highlighting her image as a potential next-generation leader.
"A strategy of foregrounding symbolism over institutions to overcome the limitation of a female supreme leader in a North Korean society steeped in feudal, patriarchal order — offsetting the emotional resistance of officials and citizens shaped by a patriarchal Confucian culture," said Oh Gyeong-seob, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
North Korean soldiers march during a ceremonial parade in Pyongyang on July 27, to mark the 73rd anniversary of the 1950-53 Korean War armistice that fell on the same day.NEWS1
Monday's parade also featured reenactments of Korean War units. It was led by a symbolic column representing the honor guard company, bearing a portrait of late founder Kim Il Sung (1912-1994), followed by a mixed mechanized-and-horse-drawn column and other units dressed and equipped as they were during the Korean War. The parade also featured marching units of the modern army, navy and air force, linking the achievements of the older generation to Kim's own military modernization drive. The military parade did not feature advanced weaponry, including Hwasong-series ballistic missiles.
Experts say the rare spectacle was aimed at reinforcing ideological discipline among younger generations while fostering unity across generations. It also suggests that even as Kim has recently sought to assert his own leadership independent of his predecessors, he remains conscious of the enduring influence and legacy of North Korea's earlier leaders.
Defense Minister No Kwang-chol gave the main speech of the event.
"We will never stand idly by in the face of actions by forces that threaten our sovereign security at every moment," he said in his speech. Adding North Korea "will defend our constitution, sovereignty and development interests, and safeguard regional peace and security through the responsible and unmistakable exercise of our war deterrent."
His references to a "war deterrent" and "constitution" are widely read as an allusion to North Korea's self-declared status as a de facto nuclear-armed state.
Chinese and Russian diplomats were also invited to Monday's event. The commemorative concert featured Chinese songs, including "March of the Chinese People's Volunteers" (1950, translated), along with footage commemorating the Chinese military's participation in the Korean War.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
