North Korean leader Kim Jong-un led a military parade in the capital, including the latest equipment from its nuclear arsenal, the growth of which is fueling tensions with neighboring countries and the United States.
Photos from the massive parade, published Thursday by North Korean state media, show Kim, his wife Ri Sol-ju and their daughter Kim Ju-ae, aged nine or 10. From a balcony, the leader smiled as thousands of troops lined up in the brightly lit square of Kim Il-sung, grandfather, first leader (1948-1994) and founder of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the country’s official name.
Wednesday night’s parade marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of North Korea’s military, held after weeks of preparations, with large numbers of troops and civilians deployed to mark the country’s status as a nuclear power.
North Korean state media has not released any details about the parade.
Commercial satellite images of the parade, released by Maxar Technologies Inc. company, showed huge trucks, loaded with missiles, cruising down the plaza’s main road as thousands of spectators watched.
North Korean military parades are closely watched by governments and outside experts, as they are often used to showcase newly developed weapons that the North plans to test or use.
Some experts had indicated that North Korea could display a new solid fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during this parade. In December, Kim Jong-un announced that he had overseen a test of a “high pressure solid fuel engine” for a new strategic weapon.
Experts indicated that it was likely a solid fuel ICBM, which allows greater missile mobility and reduces launch preparation time. As of 2017, all ICBMs in North Korea have been tested for liquid propellant flights.
Solid-fuel ICBMs were part of Kim’s five-year weapons development plan in 2021, as were tactical nuclear weapons, hypersonic missiles, nuclear-powered submarines and spy satellites.
On Tuesday, at a meeting of the central military commission, the North Korean leader ordered the armed forces to expand combat exercises and strengthen war preparedness, the official North Korean news agency KCNA said.
At the meeting, Kim encouraged the armed forces to perform “always winning feats of heroism” and demonstrate “unparalleled military strength” to usher in a new stage in the country’s development.
Commissioners, North Korea’s top military officials, discussed “major changes” in the armed forces, including “continuous expansion and intensification of operation and combat exercises” and “more rigorously perfecting war preparedness,” he told the KCNA.
Source: DN
