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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with his daughter Kim Ju Ae at a banquet in Pyongyang, North Korea.

North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via Reuters Connect

Hard Numbers: North Korea bans a name, US inflation stays warm, aid trucks cross into Syria, Ukrainians freeze sperm

0: The number of North Korean girls who are allowed to have the same name as Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter Kim Ju-Ae is now, reportedly, zero. Young Ju Ae, who is thought to be around 11 years old, has recently been in the spotlight inspecting weapons with her dad and appearing on postage stamps.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and daughter Kim Ju Ae attend a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea.

North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via REUTERS.

What We're Watching: Parade in Pyongyang, Lula in DC, China balloon capabilities

North Korea shows off ICBMs and ... a 10-year-old girl

North Korea's supreme leader made a big splash to mark the 75th anniversary of the army on Thursday by showing off his shiny new toys and — maybe — his heir. At a huge military parade in Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un beamed as he saluted a whopping 11 nuclear-armed ICBMs capable of reaching the US mainland, the largest number the regime has ever assembled in public, just two months after he demanded an "exponential increase" in the country's arsenal of nukes. Because each projectile has multiple nuclear warheads, a flurry could overwhelm US air defenses. What's more, the army also displayed a mockup of a new solid-fueled ICBM, which theoretically would be easier and faster to launch. But what really caught the attention of North Korea watchers was the presence beside the supreme leader of Kim Ju Ae, his 10-year-old daughter. The young girl, believed to be Kim's second child, met North Korea's top brass on Wednesday and has been seen five times alongside her dad in just two months, fueling speculation that Kim might someday pick her as his successor. That would be a tectonic shift for North Korea, not because of her age — after all, her father grew up around generals — but due to the country's deeply patriarchal society. Still, what matters more than gender is being a Kim, and right now the country's second most powerful person is Kim Yo Jong, the supreme leader's famously feisty sister.

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GZERO World

North Korean fireworks coming

As their relations with the US have soured, China and Russia have grown more reluctant to help the US and South Korea manage their North Korea problem. This has created more space for the North to develop and show off the weapons capabilities that the nation’s rogue regime deems essential to its survival.

Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un recently called for an “exponential increase” in North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. In response to the heightened threat, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has said that US guarantees of protection may no longer be enough for his country and that it may need to acquire nukes of its own, although he has recently walked back some of those statements.

What could go wrong? We asked Eurasia Group expert Jeremy Chan what to expect this year on the Korean Peninsula.

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North Korea On A Nuclear Rampage, Says IAEA Chief | GZERO World

North Korea on a nuclear rampage, says IAEA chief

North Korea was definitely the original gangster of nuclear proliferation. But now it freaks us out more about the size of its atomic arsenal than the fact it has nukes.

The North Koreans are not backing down, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

Grossi recently visited South Korea, where he discussed the North's plans to acquire more nuclear weapons. He says that although North Korea kicked out IAEA inspectors in 2009, he has a pretty good idea of what Pyongyang is up to.

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Annie Gugliotta

World leaders: Thanks for nothing!

This Thursday, many of our readers — particularly in the US — will celebrate Thanksgiving.

At worst, it’s a day to argue with your relatives about super-chill topics like climate change, racism, abortion, or cancel culture (here’s a useful guide for that.)

But at best, it’s an opportunity to take a moment, look around, and recognize the things you’re grateful for in this life.

And it’s not just you — our world leaders have much to be thankful for as well. Here, then, is a partial list of global gratitude:

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North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un rides a horse during snowfall in Mt. Paektu.

KCNA via REUTERS

Hard Numbers: Russian horses for Kim, Delhi’s toxic air, no dirty bomb in Ukraine, fake Americans

30: Russia and North Korea have resumed rail travel for the first time since the pandemic began. Guess what the first cargo was? Food? Fuel? Medicines? Nope — 30 thoroughbred Russian horses, which Kim Jong Un famously loves to ride to look uber-cool in the snow.

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What Russia & the US Have In Common | PUPPET REGIME | GZERO Media

Putin's intervention

Russia and the United States have something in common after all……an invasion habit.

Watch more PUPPET REGIME!

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What Putin Loves About Fall | PUPPET REGIME | GZERO Media

What Putin loves about fall

As the leaves change colors and the world slips towards nuclear war, the super-senior class at World High have written their poetic odes to autumn.

Watch more PUPPET REGIME!

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