North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had his busiest year of public appearances in nearly a decade in 2024, according to NK Pro analysis, ramping up military-related activities amid growing cooperation with Russia after taking a lower profile throughout the pandemic.

But he also scaled back the activities of his young daughter, who many believe is heir to the Kim family’s hereditary dictatorship, after an apparent experiment with raising her profile at the start of the year.

The main factors driving Kim Jong Un’s public resurgence appear to be the dispatch of troops and