North Korean Parade Displays a New Weapon

At a massive military parade attended by foreign leaders, North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un rolled out his nuclear-armed military's most powerful weapons, including a new intercontinental ballistic missile he may be preparing to test. The parade, which began in the rain Friday night at Pyongyang's main square and marked the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party, highlighted Kim's growing diplomatic footing and his relentless drive to build an arsenal that could target the continental US and his rivals in Asia. High-level Russian and Chinese officials watched the parade with Kim, the AP reports.

• The weapons: State media said Saturday that the parade featured a new, yet-to-be-tested ICBM called the Hwasong-20, which it described as the country's "most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system." The parade saw the debut of the massive Hwasong-20, with at least three of them wheeled out on 11-axle launcher trucks. North Korea in recent years has flight-tested a variety of ICBMs that could potentially reach the US mainland, including missiles with built-in solid propellants that are easier to move and conceal and can be prepared for launch more quickly than the North's previous liquid-fueled missiles. Other weapons on display included shorter-range ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles, which the North previously described as capable of delivering nuclear strikes against targets in South Korea. The parade also featured Kim's newest tanks, artillery systems, and drones, which have been a focus of his efforts to expand conventional military capabilities after he spent much of his early rule concentrating on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

• The event: Joined by Chinese, Vietnamese, and Russian officials, Kim said in a speech that his military "should continue to grow into an invincible entity that destroys all threats" but made no direct mention of the US or South Korea. He praised the thousands of North Korean soldiers he sent to Russia to join its war on Ukraine, saying they displayed "heroic fighting spirit" in a battle for "international justice and genuine peace." Edited footage from North Korean state television showed what appeared to be tens of thousands of spectators packed into the brightly lit square, cheering and waving the national flag as columns of goose-stepping soldiers and missile-mounted vehicles rolled through the rain-soaked streets. Kim has called for the development of multiwarhead systems that would improve the chances of penetrating missile defenses, and some experts say the Hwasong-20 could be designed for that purpose.
• The delegations: Kim hosted a rare group of high-level foreign officials, including Chinese Premier Li Qiang, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of Moscow's Security Council, and Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam. Kim on Friday met with Medvedev to discuss developing the "comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance" with Russia, the official Korean Central News Agency said. Medvedev praised the North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk border region, and called for expanded exchanges and cooperation between the two governments. Kim had also met Li and Lam on Thursday for talks on strengthening ties.