SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — At a massive military parade attended by foreign leaders, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rolled out his nuclear-armed military’s most powerful weapons, including a new intercontinental ballistic missile he may be preparing to test in coming weeks.
The parade, which began Friday night in the rain and marked the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party, highlighted Kim’s growing diplomatic footing and his
relentless drive to build an arsenal that could viably target the continental United States and his rivals in Asia.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the parade featured a new, yet-to-be-tested intercontinental ballistic missile called the Hwasong-20, which it described as the “most powerful nuclear strategic weapons system.”
Other weapons on display included shorter range ballistic, cruise and supersonic missiles, which the North previously described as capable of delivering nuclear strikes against targets in rival South Korea.
In a speech at the parade, Kim said his military “must continue to evolve into an invincible force that eliminates all threats,” but made no direct mention of Washington or Seoul, according to comments published by KCNA.
Photos and videos from Russia’s TASS news agency showed thousands of spectators packing the brightly lit Kim Il Sung Square, named after Kim Jong Un’s state-founding grandfather, as missile-mounted vehicles rolled past.
KCNA said the columns of soldiers who marched during the parade included “the invincible overseas operations unit that fully demonstrated the spirit of the Korean people,” suggesting they were troops Kim had sent to Russia to join the war effort against Ukraine.
The parade took place as Kim hosted a rare group of high-level foreign officials to attend the anniversary celebrations, including Chinese Premier Li Qiang; former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of Moscow’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin; and Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam. The optics are likely to be used by state media to highlight Kim’s increasingly assertive foreign policy, as he embraces the idea of a “new Cold War” aimed at breaking out of isolation and seeks a larger role for North Korea in a united front against the U.S.-led West.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kim has made Russia the priority of his foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and large shipments of weapons, including artillery and ballistic missiles, to help fuel Putin’s warfighting. Kim also visited China last month, and shared center stage with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin at a massive military parade, in another step aimed at strengthening his diplomatic leverage.
Kim’s government has repeatedly dismissed calls by Washington and Seoul to restart long-stalled diplomacy aimed at winding down his nuclear weapons and missile program, which derailed following the collapse of his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019 during his first term.
