In a parade to celebrate the 75th anniversary of North Korea’s army on Wednesday, leader Kim Jong Un displayed a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that he could test in the coming months.

The missile, which has taken years to develop, was one of around a dozen ICBMs exhibited at the event in the capital, Pyongyang.

The parade made headlines because Mr Kim’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae – who is thought to be the leader’s second-born child and aged around 10 – made her fifth known public appearance.

But photographs released by state media also made a point of showing off his regime’s military.

The images showed launcher trucks carrying about 10 of the country’s Hwasong-17 ICBMs, which last year demonstrated a flight range that would allow them to reach deep into the US mainland.

Those missiles were followed by another large missile encased in a canister and transported on a nine-axle vehicle.

The new weapon could be a crucial addition to North Korea’s long-range arsenal targeting the US, with solid fuel potentially reducing launch preparation time and allowing missiles to be more mobile on the ground.

The number of missiles on show highlighted the country’s growing weapons programme, which continues to stoke concern among its neighbours and in the United States.

Last week, North Korea said US military drills with South Korea are pushing tensions to “an extreme red line” and that it is prepared to counter the moves with the “most overwhelming nuclear force”.

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“This time, Kim Jong Un let North Korea’s expanding tactical and long-range missile forces speak for themselves,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

“The message Pyongyang wants to send internationally, demonstrating its capabilities to deter and coerce, will likely come in the form of solid-fuel missile tests and detonation of a miniaturised nuclear device.”

Lee Sung Jun, a spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a briefing that the South Korean and US militaries were closely analysing North Korean photographs and reports to evaluate the weaponry at the parade.

Rare appearance for daughter and possible heir

Mr Kim also took his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, to the parade on Tuesday.

Some experts believe she is being primed to become her father’s successor as leader of the regime.

She joined her father on a visit to troops as he praised the “irresistible might” of his nuclear-armed military, calling them the “strongest army in the world”.

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Mr Kim and his daughter dressed alike in black suits and white dress shirts and held hands as they walked down a red carpet alongside the leader’s wife, Ri Sol Ju.

Analysts say Mr Kim’s decision to bring his daughter to military-related public events is to send a message to the world that he has no intention of voluntarily surrendering his nuclear weapons, which he apparently sees as the strongest guarantee of his survival and the extension of his family’s dynastic rule.

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