Through the use of a reductive perturbation technique, solitary kinetic Alfvén waves(KAWs) are investigated in a low but finite b(particle-to-magnetic pressure ratio) dense electron–positron–ion plasma where electrons and positrons are degenerate. The degenerate plasma model considered here permits the existence of sub-Alfvénic compressive solitary KAWs. The influence of r(equilibrium positron-to-ion density ratio), sF(electron-to-positron Fermi temperature ratio), b and obliqueness parameter lzon various characteristics of solitary KAWs are examined through numerical plots. We have shown that there exists a critical value of lzat which a soliton width attains its maximum value which decreases with an increase in r and sF.It is also found that solitons with a higher energy propagate more obliquely in the direction of an ambient magnetic field. The results of the present investigation may be useful for understanding low frequency nonlinear electromagnetic wave propagation in magnetized electron–positron–ion plasmas in dense stars. Specifically, the relevance of our investigation to a pulsar magnetosphere is emphasized.