North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presided over a major military parade featuring the nation’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile as international dignitaries looked on, state media KCNA reported.
The Friday night parade commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s founding, following Thursday’s celebrations. Among the foreign guests in Pyongyang were Chinese Premier Li Qiang, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Vietnam’s Communist Party leader To Lam.
During the parade, North Korea showcased its advanced Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile, which KCNA characterised as the nation’s “strongest nuclear strategic weapon system”.
While the Hwasong ICBM series provides North Korea with the theoretical capability to strike anywhere in the United States, experts remain uncertain about its guidance precision and whether its warhead could survive atmospheric re-entry.
“The Hwasong-20 represents, for the moment, the apotheosis of North Korea’s ambitions for long-range nuclear delivery capabilities. We should expect to see the system tested before the end of this year,” said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“The system is likely designed for the delivery of multiple warheads … Multiple warheads will increase stresses on existing US missile defence systems and augment what Kim sees as necessary to achieve meaningful deterrence effects against Washington.”
In his address during the parade, Kim offered “warm encouragement” to North Korean troops serving abroad, notably in Russia’s Ukraine war, noting their heroism would extend beyond national defence to “outposts of socialist construction,” according to KCNA.
“Our army should continue to grow into an invincible entity that destroys all threats,” Kim declared.
Kim also met with Medvedev on Friday, who remarked that North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in Ukraine demonstrated the trust between their nations. Kim expressed his desire to strengthen cooperation with Russia and engage in diverse exchanges to achieve mutual goals, KCNA reported.