Pyongyang, North Korea
North Korea exhibited a ballistic missile that can be launched from a submarine in a military parade held in Pyongyang this Friday, just days after Joe Biden’s inauguration as president of the United States.
The parade marked the (ruling) Workers ’Party congress, 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 agency. of press KCNA.
“The most powerful weapon in the world, the ballistic missile that can be launched from a submarine, entered the square, one after the other, demonstrating the power of the revolutionary armed forces,” he said. KCNA agency.
The photos show at least four missiles endowed with black and white warheads marching in the middle of the mass waving their flags.
Ankit Panda, an expert on Carnegie Endowment, a Washington-based non-governmental organization, said this missile model had never been seen.
They also took part in the parade infantry troops, Artillery, cars and planes that formed the number 8 to celebrate the 8th congress, the same source added.
– “Powerful attack ability” –
The parade, overseen by Kim, also displayed rockets with a “powerful attack capability to completely annihilate enemies, preventively, out of territory,” the official agency added.
This type of message means that the weapons have a range that goes beyond the Korean peninsula and could reach at least Japan.
However, KCNA’s description does not mention any intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), suggesting that the parade was smaller than last October.
A new intercontinental ballistic missile of gigantic dimensions was then exhibited. According to experts, it is the largest liquid-fuel missile that can travel on a road known in the world.
The United States has 28,500 troops in South Korea to defend that country from its northern neighbor, and a significant military presence in Japan.
Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump maintained a tumultuous relationship, going from uttering insults and threats of war to holding two diplomatic summits at which the US president paid tribute to the North Korean leader.
But in the end, there was no progress on the thorny dossier of Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic programs. Negotiations are at a standstill since the failure of the second meeting between the two presidents at the end of February 2019 in Hanoi.
One reason for the lack of progress was the lack of consensus on the concessions North Korea was willing to make in exchange for lifting the international sanctions it suffers.