North Korea Shows nuclear missiles: In a nocturnal parade, nuclear-armed North Korea displayed its prowess in missile production, exhibiting more intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) than ever before and dropping hints about a new solid-fuel weapon, according to official media on Thursday.
On Wednesday, North Korea celebrated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of its army by holding the eagerly awaited nocturnal military parade in Pyongyang, according to state news agency KCNA.
The head of state, Kim Jong Un, came with his daughter, who is tipped to take on a major position in the hereditary regime in the future.
According to KCNA, the parade also included tactical nuclear units and the ICBMs demonstrated North Korea’s “largest” nuclear strike capabilities.
North Korean official media released 11 images of the Hwasong-17, the largest ICBM in North Korea. People believe that Hwasong-17 can launch a nuclear warhead almost anywhere in the world.
Ankit Panda of the American-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace tweeted, “This is cumulatively more ICBM launchers than we’ve ever seen at a North Korean display.”
He continued that the number of warheads on such ICBMs might be sufficient to overwhelm the country’s current missile defense systems.
Last year saw the Hwasong-17’s initial testing.
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Despite resolutions and sanctions passed by the UN Security Council, the nation has continued to improve its ballistic missile programme by launching bigger and more sophisticated missiles.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, stated, “This time, Kim Jong Un let North Korea’s developing tactical and long-range missile forces speak for themselves. Pyongyang aims to send a message to the world and demonstrate its ability to coerce and deter others through conducting solid-fuel missile tests and detonating a miniaturized nuclear bomb.
According to some analysts, the Hwasong-17s were succeeded by the exhibition of a canister-launched prototype or model of a new solid-fuel ICBM.
According to Panda, the canisterized ICBMs looked different from the ones displayed in a 2017 parade.
The majority of the largest ballistic missiles in the nation use liquid fuel, necessitating a lengthy propellant loading operation at the launch site.
Long considered a top priority for the nation, developing a solid-fuel ICBM might make its nuclear missiles more evasive to detection and destruction in a fight.
How soon the alleged new missile might undergo testing is unknown. At the parades, North Korea has occasionally put on display mockups.