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North Korea has included a developmental ballistic missile designed to be launched from submarines in military equipment that was on display in a parade that interrupted calls by leader Kim Jong-un to expand its nuclear weapons program.
Thursday night’s parade held a major meeting of the ruling party at which Kim pledged maximum efforts to beef up his missile and nuclear program to counter what he described as American hostility.
Korea’s Central News Agency released photos of Kim in a black fur hat and leather trench coat on Friday, smiling and gesturing from a podium as thousands of soldiers and civilian onlookers packed Kim Il-sung Square, which bears the name. from his grandfather and founder of North Korea.
The agency said onlookers roared as troops deployed the country’s most advanced strategic weapons, including submarine-launched ballistic missiles that it described as “the most powerful in the world.”
Photos released by state media showed trucks carrying missiles that appeared to be ballistic missiles launched from newly developed submarines or modified versions of previously tested systems.
The agency also said the parade featured other missiles that could “preventively and completely destroy any enemy outside our territory.” But it was not immediately clear if the description referred to ICBMs.
The eight-day congress of the North Korean Workers’ Party ended this week, in which Kim spoke of plans to save the nation’s economy amid U.S.-led sanctions over its nuclear ambitions, border closures related to the pandemic and natural disasters that wiped out crops.
Kim’s comments are likely intended to put pressure on the incoming US administration of Joe Biden, who previously called the North Korean leader a “bully” and accused Trump of hounding the show rather than curbing the North’s nuclear capabilities. Kim did not rule out talks, but said the fate of bilateral ties would depend on whether Washington abandons its hostile policy toward Pyongyang.
The economic setbacks have left Kim nothing to show for his ambitious diplomacy with President Donald Trump, which was derailed by disagreements on the North Korean sanctions exchange and denuclearization measures.
During its previous military parade in October, North Korea unveiled what appeared to be its largest ICBM yet. The country’s previous long-range missiles demonstrated a potential ability to penetrate deep into the continental US during flight tests in 2017.
It was not immediately clear if Kim made a speech during the parade. North Korean state television has not released footage of the event, and the South Korean and US armies have yet to provide assessments of the weapons displayed by North Korea.
During the party’s congress, Kim unveiled plans to search for more sophisticated military assets, including longer-range ICBMs that could target the continental U.S. More reliably, new weapons and tactical nuclear warheads, nuclear-powered submarines. , spy satellites and hypersonic weapons.
It is not clear if the North is fully capable of acquiring such systems. While the country is believed to have amassed at least dozens of nuclear weapons, external estimates of the exact status of its nuclear and missile programs vary widely.
The North has been developing submarine-launched ballistic missile systems for years. Acquiring an operating system would alarm your rivals and neighbors because missiles fired from submerged vessels are more difficult to detect beforehand.
