North Korea has new message to United States following its parades of military might and warns the latter amid fears of nuclear tests.
The Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, displays thousands of soldiers mass at Kim Il-sung Square, a move that could mean dangerous ‘military hysteria’
In the midst of the celebration of the country’s founding father, Kim Il-sung, NoKor has held a vast military parade, as it warned it was prepared to take the “toughest” action unless the US ended its “military hysteria”, with speculation growing that the regime is preparing to conduct a nuclear test.
On a sunny Saturday morning in Pyongyang, military vehicles and tens of thousands of soldiers filled Kim Il-sung Square as a band played rousing military music, the instruments falling silent for oaths of loyalty to the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un.
Military experts said the array of military hardware on show included what appeared to be a new intercontinental ballistic missile being carried along the streets of the capital on a huge truck.
The Yonhap news agency quoted South Korean military officials as saying they had not seen the missile before and it appeared to be a new type of ICBM.
Meanwhile, North Korean state television showed what appeared to be several KN-08 and KN-14 missiles. Although they have yet to be tested, analysts say the missiles could one day be capable of hitting targets as far away as the US mainland.
Also on show for the first time were Pukkuksong submarine-launched ballistic missiles, which have a range of more than 1,000km (600 miles).
Experts said the display of multiple SLBMs indicated that North Korea was closer to being able to launch submarine-based missiles, which are harder to detect. “It suggests a commitment to this programme,” said Joshua Pollack.
Pollack is the editor of the Washington-based Nonproliferation Review. “Multiple SLBMs seems like a declaration of intent to advance the programme.”
A senior North Korean official used the parade to accuse the US of “creating a war situation” with the recent dispatch of warships to the region.
“We will respond to an all-out war with an all-out war and a nuclear war with our style of a nuclear attack,” said Choe Ryong-hae, who is rumoured to be the second-most powerful politician in North Korea, during the parade.
Kim, dressed in a black suit and white shirt and flanked by senior military and Workers’ party officials, applauded and occasionally smiled as he watched the tributes to his grandfather, who was born 105 years ago on Saturday.
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