Kim Jong Un oversaw a military parade in North Korea, showcasing new drones and nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, on the anniversary of the armistice that ended Korean War fighting, according to state media on Friday.
“Newly developed and produced strategic unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and multipurpose attack drones… flew during demonstrations while circling in the sky above the square,” Kim Il Sung, the central agency said. Korean Central News Agency press.
“The public’s enthusiasm and delight was at its height” when North Korea’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the solid-fuel powered Hwasong-18, tested in April and July this year, paraded through the place, the official KCNA agency said.
High-ranking Russian and Chinese delegations, visiting Pyongyang, attended the festivities. They were the North Korean leader’s first known foreign guests since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The celebrations mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, which ended the fighting and is celebrated in North Korea as ‘Victory Day’.
Since the 1950-1953 war, concluded by an armistice in the absence of a peace treaty, the two Koreas are still officially at war.
Kim “sent a warm battle salute” during the parade, but did not deliver a speech, according to reports by KCNA.
Satellite images confirmed that North Korea held a large-scale military parade for Thursday’s anniversary.
KCNA said the parade “demonstrated to the whole world the unyielding will of all soldiers and people to create a new legend of victory in the Kim Jong-un era.”
According to Yangmo Ku, professor of political science at Norwich University, in the United States, the parade is an important engine to “promote the legitimacy of Kim Jong Un’s rule and internal unity in this economically difficult period”, said told AFP.
But this year, with the presence of high-ranking guests from Russia and China, Pyongyang appears to be trying “to send a signal to the United States and its allies that, through strengthened ties with Russia and China, North Korea is militarily ready to face strategic threats from its enemies.
“All these events indicate the emergence of a new cold war around the Korean peninsula,” added Mr. Ku, who called on Washington, Seoul and Tokyo to take measures to ease the growing tensions on the peninsula.
China, North Korea’s main ally and economic supporter, and Russia, another historical ally, are among the few nations with which Pyongyang maintains friendly relations.
Shoigu’s visit is all the more remarkable given that Russian defense ministers have not visited Pyongyang on a regular basis since the collapse of the USSR, experts told AFP.
The North Korean leader supports the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow, in particular by providing rockets and missiles, according to Washington, which Pyongyang denies.
In its latest defense “white paper” released on Friday, Japan’s Defense Ministry listed Pyongyang as a major concern for Japan.
“North Korea’s military activities pose an even more serious and imminent threat to Japan’s national security than ever before,” the white paper said.
“It is assumed that North Korea has the capability to attack Japan with nuclear weapons mounted on ballistic missiles,” the report added.
The document is also largely devoted to China’s growing military power and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
28/07/2023 08:08:58 – Seoul (AFP) © 2023 AFP
