North Korea’s leader stages military parade
Celebration rolls out possible new missiles
PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea rolled out developmental ballistic missiles designed to be launched from submarines and other military hardware in a parade that punctuated leader Kim Jong Un’s calls to expand his nuclear weapons program.
State media said Kim took center stage in Thursday night’s parade celebrating a ruling party meeting where Kim vowed maximum efforts to bolster his nuclear and missile program that threatens Asian rivals and the American homeland to counter what he described as U.S. hostility.
During the eight-day Workers’ Party congress, which ended Tuesday, Kim also revealed plans to salvage the nation’s economy amid U.s.-led sanctions over his nuclear ambitions, pandemic-related border closures and natural disasters that wiped out crops.
The economic setbacks have left Kim nothing to show for his diplomacy with President Donald Trump, which derailed over disagreements in exchanging sanctions relief and the North’s denuclearization steps and pushed Kim to what is the toughest moment of his nine-year rule.
Kim’s comments are likely intended to pressure the incoming
U.S. government of Joe Biden, who has called the North Korean leader a “thug” and accused Trump of chasing spectacle rather than meaningful curbs on the North’s nuclear capabilities. Kim has not ruled out talks, but he said the fate of bilateral relations would depend on whether Washington abandons its hostile policy toward Pyongyang.
The Korean Central News Agency on Friday released photos of Kim wearing a black fur hat and leather trench coat, smiling and gesturing from a podium as thousands of troops and civilian spectators filled Kim Il Sung Square, named after his grandfather and North Korea’s founder.
Photos released by state media showed trucks transporting missiles that appeared to be newly developed submarine-launched ballistic missiles or modified versions of previously tested systems.
The agency also said the parade featured other missiles that could “pre-emptively and completely destroy any enemy outside of our territory.” But it wasn’t clear whether the description was referring to intercontinental ballistic missiles.
During its previous military parade in October, the North unveiled what appeared to be its biggest-yet ICBM. The country’s previous long-range missiles demonstrated a potential ability to reach deep into the U.S. mainland during flight tests in 2017.
It wasn’t clear whether Kim delivered a speech during the parade. North Korean state TV hasn’t released footage of the event, and the South Korean and U.S. militaries haven’t yet provided assessments of the weapons displayed by the North.
While the country is thought to have accumulated at least dozens of nuclear weapons, estimates on the status of its nuclear and missiles programs vary widely.