Fears Kim has missile that could hit America
Parade in North Korea’s capital shows off what appears to be a missile capable of hitting the US
TENSION between North Korea and the United States rose to new levels yesterday after the Pyongyang regime unveiled what could be a missile capable of striking the American mainland.
The new long-range weapon – the KN14 – was the centrepiece of an array of weaponry put on show at a military parade in the North Korean capital.
Relations between the two countries had already reached a new low after President Donald Trump deployed an aircraft carrier battle group to the region.
Now the appearance of what could be a deadly new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range of 7,000 miles has prompted further fears the region could be plunged into conflict.
Choe Ryong-hae, believed to be the country’s second-most powerful official, told a parade to mark the 105th anniversary of the birth of the nation’s founder, Kim Il-sung, that the country was ready to fight, stating: “We’re prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war.”
During the parade a new kind of ICBM enclosed in canister launchers was revealed, mounted on trucks.
Analysts say that although the canisters could have been empty mock-ups, and that any missile would still be some way off being ready for deployment, they represent the prospect that the regime is close to developing a frightening new capability.
Cristina Varriale, an expert in nuclear proliferation at the Royal United Services Institute, said: “The development of an ICBM would be particularly concerning for South Korea and Japan, because once the US know they can be targeted at home that may change their calculus as to whether they are prepared to help defend those countries if they are attacked by North Korea.”
North Korea is under United Nations sanctions over its weapons programmes but has long wanted a rocket capable reaching the US mainland.
It has carried out five nuclear tests – two of them last year – and multiple missile launches, one of which saw several rockets land in waters close to Japan last month. Speculation has grown that it is to conduct a sixth nuclear test to coincide with the anniversary.
Both China, the North’s sole major ally, and Russia have urged restraint, with Beijing’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, warning on Friday that “conflict could break out at any moment”.
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, appealed for calm, pointing out that North Korea had threatened a military escalation on previous occasions.
Mr Johnson said: “We stand alongside our international partners in making clear that North Korea must adhere to UN resolutions designed to secure peace and stability in the region and stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
Mike Pence, the US vice-president, is due to arrive in South Korea today carrying a range of military options for tackling North Korea’s increasing belligerence.
Meanwhile, a group of British parliamentarians are to make contact with the British and North Korean ambassadors “to see what influence we can bring”. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, co-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on North Korea, said it would try to “bring a bit of sanity to both sides”.
“LONG LIVE,” they chanted, some of them in tears.
As the world held its breath amid growing nuclear tension, thousands of North Korean soldiers, sailors and airmen put on an intimidating display of military might.
“Long live,” they chanted, as dozens of rockets and missiles capable of inflicting terrifying devastation for hundreds of miles around rumbled through the North Korean capital Pyongyang – an armoury of death accompanied by a chant for the well-being of their leader Kim Jong-un.
And at the heart of the parade across Kim Il-sung Square was what was feared to be a new long-range intercontinental ballistic missile, for the first time giving a capability of striking the United States.
Goose-stepping in serried ranks, their pristine uniforms glinting in the sun, the men and women of North Korea’s armed forces put on their yearly Cold War-era display to commemorate the nation’s founder,
One unit of uniformed women engaged in a synchronised sword dance, while regimented bands of loyal “citizens” waved flowers in unison.
Other detachments carried rocketpropelled grenades, their eyes turned towards the balcony from where Kim watched, flanked by officers and officials, bestowing the occasional benign wave.
But it was what came next that was meant to truly terrify the watching world; 56 missiles of 10 different models, culminating in a series of enormous rockets on articulated trailers.
The weaponry included what appeared to be a new intercontinental ballistic missile, or a prototype of one, covered by canisters – although there were questions as to whether there was anything inside.
Also displayed was the submarine version of the Pukkuksong ballistic missile; the land version of which North Korea successfully test-fired last February towards Japan.
Military analysts said the rockets appeared to be longer than the North’s existing KN-08, prompting further concerns over the country’s capabilities, concerns reinforced by the words of Choe Ryong-Hae, Kim’s close aide.
Addressing the packed square, sited next to the Taedong River flowing through Pyongyang, Choe – regarded by analysts as North Korea’s number two official – said President Donald Trump was guilty of “creating a war situation” on the Korean Peninsula by dispatching US forces to the region.
“If the United States wages reckless provocation against us, our revolutionary power will instantly counter with [an] annihilating strike, and we will respond to full-out war with full-out war and to nuclear war with our style of nuclear strike warfare,” he said.
The country’s state news agency, KCNA, said the Trump administration’s “serious military hysteria” had reached a “dangerous phase which can no longer be overlooked”.
The occasion for yesterday’s parade was the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Jong-un’s grandfather Kim Il-sung.
His anniversary is known as the “Day of the Sun” and a squadron of warplanes flying in a 105 formation roared overhead. But it was also intended to send a clear message to Mr Trump, who has deployed an aircraft carrier battle group to the region.
Alongside Kim, who succeeded his father Kim Jong-il as supreme commander, were the military leaders who are said to be the real power behind the family throne.
Kim did not speak during the annual parade, but he pointedly greeted the commander of the Strategic Forces, the branch that is responsible for the missile arsenal.
In Dandong, China’s main border post with North Korea, hundreds of North Koreans gathered at a cultural centre carrying floral displays and bowing to portraits of their nation’s founder.
The men wore pins adorned with photos of Kim Il-sung, while the women were dressed in brightly coloured traditional outfits.
Several analysts watching the parade said it was a “highly visible way of showing off capabilities”, though there were also suggestions the missile canisters might be empty mock-ups designed to impress.
Cristina Varriale, an analyst on nuclear proliferation at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said: “We are not sure how far down that path they have got, but now we know they have got the shell capacity.
“It could be a mock-up – they could just be at the design stage, or they could have gone further.”
Ms Varriale said it was particularly significant that a number of the launching vehicles appeared to be more manoeuverable than in previous parades, with tracks instead of wheels, suggesting North Korea is not just posing sym-
‘The US is goading them but they are playing with the wrong country. The North Koreans will not back down’
bolically but thinking practically about how to use them.
She warned: “The US is goading them but they are playing with the wrong country. The North Koreans are not going to back down.”
Prof Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general of RUSI, said: “The North Koreans are trying to give the impression that they are close to having the capability to launch an ICBM, but whether they actually can is another matter. They are trying to increase their deterrent potential.
“They are clearly making progress with the programme and the use of solid fuels makes it closer to being a reality.” He added: “They have never successfully tested an ICBM. Once they successfully test a missile they could have capacity to use one pretty quickly.
“I think it’s clear that if they were able to launch an ICBM they would have tested it as a deterrent to deter the Americans. The Americans will want to take any action before.”
Prof Chalmers went on: “The driving force of the whole programme is regime survival.
“North Koreans would hope an ability to launch a nuclear warhead on the US would deter the Americans from intervening in a local nuclear war.”
Evans Revere of the Brookings Institution in Washington said the parade was intended to send “a tough message to the United States in response to the Trump administration’s recent rhetoric and the military steps … taken”.
Mr Revere said a nuclear test – the country’s sixth – “can’t be ruled out”, but added that the recent US strike on Syria “may give Pyongyang some pause”.
It could all be a giant bluff; suggest you may be about to stage another nuclear test only to limit your sabre-rattling to an overblown parade. But with nuclear annihilation on the agenda, nobody was in the mood to take yesterday’s show of strength lightly.