(Bloomberg) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to quickly strengthen his atomic arsenal at a military parade in central Pyongyang that included thousands of goose-stepping soldiers and his latest nuclear-capable weapons that threaten the U.S. and its allies.
The parade that lasted more than two hours was held Monday night and shown on state TV Tuesday, Among the weapons on display were North Korea’s biggest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17, a hypersonic missile system and a new submarine-launched ballistic missile state TV called “the world’s strongest weapon.”
“In preparation for the turbulent political and military situation and all kinds of crises in the future, we will go forward faster and more steadfastly on the road of self-defense and modern force construction,” Kim said in a speech at the parade. “We will continue to take measures to strengthen and develop the nuclear force at the highest possible speed.”
The parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of its army came as North Korea appears ready to test its first nuclear device since 2017 and has rolled out in recent months new weapons designed to evade U.S.-operated missile shields. Tensions are also set to increase when South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol takes office on May 10 with pledges to pursue a tough line on Pyongyang.
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to visit South Korea and Japan in late May, according to media reports. Any display of the weapons in Kim’s nuclear arsenal would serve as a reminder of the pressing security problems posed by Pyongyang that have simmered as his administration has been focused on the war in Ukraine.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, especially relevant to North Korea and the new South Korean presidential administration, present opportunities for Kim to demonstrate his country’s military prowess,” said Soo Kim, a policy analyst with the Rand Corp. who previously worked at the Central Intelligence Agency.
“The display of weapons, plus Kim’s speech highlighting nuclear development and readiness to use the weapons at anytime, should tell us the regime harbors no intentions to slow down development or give up its nukes,” she said.
The event was heavy on the showmanship that has been a staple of recent military parades under Kim, who was shown on TV arriving in a limousine escorted by motorcycles.
He exited the car with his wife Ri Sol Ju, and they walked a red carpet to greet the troops and were met by jumping children bearing flowers when they entered the viewing pavilion. The appearance was a rare one for Ri, who doesn’t come out often in public and was last noted in state media for attending a Lunar New Year art performance in February.
The parade opened with skydivers wearing suits affixed with brightly colored lighting flying in formation over Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang. After they deployed their parachutes, flares shooting sparks followed them and then they unfurled large North Korean flags as they made their way to the ground.
Kim, who spoke for about 20 minutes, was dressed in a white military tunic, reminiscent of what his grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung had worn at similar events. He waved as troops and weaponry passed beneath him and watched big screens in the square showing stylized pre-recorded videos such jet fighter pilots preparing to take to the sky.
This was Kim’s fourth military parade since October 2020, where his regime rolled out the largest display of new weaponry since he took power about a decade ago. That event two years ago marked the first public showing of the Hwasong-17, which weapons experts said is the world’s largest road-worthy ICBM and designed to deliver a multiple nuclear warhead payload to the U.S. mainland.
The missile was tested last month and blew up in the skies over Pyongyang shortly after take-off, South Korean authorities said. North Korea conducted a successful ICBM test eight days later, with South Korea saying its neighbor fired off a different rocket — a less advanced Hwasong-15 missile that was used in its last ICBM test in 2017.
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North Korea tried to deceive the world and its people about the type of missile it fired off, South Korea said, putting together a slickly produced video that combined the two launches and claiming it showed Kim overseeing a successful launch of the Hwasong-17 — despite the outside world seeing it as an embarrassing failure. Tightly controlled North Korea blocked any mention of the mishap to its people.
“If the Hwasong-17 was not displayed at the parade, it would give an impression that North Korea acknowledges the failure,” said Wang Son-taek, director of the Global Policy Center at the Han Pyeong Peace Institute in South Korea.
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