Enlarge image
Cheers and rockets: On the occasion of a military parade, the regime turned up crowds of people and weapons
Photo:
KCNA/EPO
North Korea has deployed numerous weapons systems during a night military parade - including possibly a new solid-fueled ICBM.
With reference to satellite images, experts assumed that North Korea presented more ICBMs than ever before at its troop shows and obviously also new types of missiles on the 75th anniversary of the founding of its armed forces on Wednesday.
The ICBMs shown demonstrated a maximum of nuclear attack capability, the state media in North Korea reported on Thursday, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Pictures showed leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the parade on Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, which was brightly lit with searchlights, from a balcony.
He was accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju and his teenage daughter Kim Ju-ae.
The country, which is largely isolated internationally, is subject to tough international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program.
Satellite images from the US company Maxar Technologies showed military vehicles and crowds in Kim Il Sung Square in the capital Pyongyang.
"Following the apparent Hwasong-17 ICBM pairs are four unidentified but apparently similarly sized canister systems," Joseph Dempsey, a defense researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote on Twitter along with the footage.
The Hwasong-17 is North Korea's largest long-range missile to date.
The new missile could be an ICBM, which was shown at a parade in 2017 but has not yet been tested, said Ankit Panda of the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace.
Footage from the parade indicated 10 to 12 North Korean Hwasong-17 ICBMs, Panda continued.
"Together that's more ICBM launchers than have ever been seen at a North Korean parade." ICBMs, which have a range of at least 5,500 kilometers, are considered the most important means of delivering nuclear weapons.
Contrary to the sanctions of the United Nations (UN), North Korea has pushed ahead with the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in recent years.
Most of the country's largest ballistic missiles run on liquid fuel, so they must be refueled at the launch site, a time-consuming process.
Developing a solid-propellant ICBM has long been considered an important goal for North Korea, since such nuclear missiles would be harder to detect and destroy in a conflict.
It is Kim's second appearance with his daughter Kim Ju-ae within a few days.
He also had her with him at a banquet also held to mark the 75th anniversary of the armed forces.
The visit apparently took place on Tuesday, but photos were not published until Wednesday.
According to the AP, Kim Jong-un wanted to use the family appearance to demonstrate that he has no intention of willingly giving up his nuclear arsenal or the decades-long rule of his family dynasty.
At the same time, the family appearance fuels speculation as to whether Kim wants to position his daughter as a potential successor at the head of state.
tensions aggravated
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated significantly since last year.
According to a UN expert report, Pyongyang tested more than 70 nuclear-capable missiles in violation of Security Council resolutions.
After the United States and South Korea announced further military exercises this year to deter North Korea, the Foreign Ministry in Pyongyang recently threatened to react.
Sol/dpa/Reuters
