Pyongyang, North Korea
North Korea showed a ballistic missile that could be launched from one submarine in a military parade held this Friday in Pyongyang, a few days after Joe Biden’s inauguration as the US presidency.
The parade marked the Congress of the (ruling) Workers’ Party, in which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed that the United States is his country’s “main enemy”.
“The majestic elite units and invincible ranks of the Republic that will proudly cross Kim Il Sung Square represent our absolute power,” Defense Minister Kim Jong Gwan said before the parade, according to the official KCNA news agency.
“The world’s most powerful weapon, the ballistic missile that can be fired from a submarine, came one after the other into the square, demonstrating the power of the revolutionary forces,” the KCNA bureau said.
Photos show at least four missiles endowed with black and white warheads waving their flags amidst the crowd.
Ankit Panda, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment, a Washington-based non-governmental organization, stated that this model missile had never been seen.
They also participated in the parade infantry troops, artillery, cars and planes that made up the number 8 to celebrate the 8th Congress added the same source.
– “Powerful Attack Ability” –
The parade, overseen by Kim, also showed missiles with “powerful attack capability to destroy enemies completely outside the territory in a preemptive manner,” added the official body.
This type of message means that the weapons have a range beyond the Korean peninsula and can reach at least Japan.
However, the KCNA description does not mention any ICBMs, suggesting that the parade was smaller than last October.
A new ICBM of gigantic dimensions was then put on display. According to specialists, it is the largest liquid fuel rocket that can travel by road, as is known in the world.
The United States has 28,500 troops in South Korea to defend this country from its northern neighbor, and a significant military presence in Japan.
Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump had a tumultuous relationship, ranging from insults and threats of war to holding two diplomatic summits at which the US president praised the North Korean leader.
Ultimately, however, Pyongyang’s dire dossier of nuclear and ballistic programs did not break through. Negotiations have come to a standstill since the failure of the second meeting between the two leaders in Hanoi in late February 2019.
One reason for the lack of progress was the lack of consensus on the concessions North Korea was willing to make in return for lifting the international sanctions it faces.