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 United States and his rivals in Asia.
North Korean 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.”
Joined by high-level Chinese, Vietnamese and Russian officials at a podium, 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 United States or South Korea.
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. The soldiers included troops Kim had sent to Russia, who marched under North Korean and Russian flags as state media hailed them as “invincible” warriors.
The parade saw the debut of the massive Hwasong-20, with at least three of them wheeled out on 11-axle launcher trucks.
Kim has called for the development of multi-warhead systems that would improve the chances of penetrating missile defenses, and some experts say the Hwasong-20 could be designed for that purpose.
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 key focus of his efforts to expand his conventional military capabilities after he spent much of his early rule concentrating on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
During the parade, Kim took the central spot at the podium, flanked by Li to his right and Lam to his left, while Medvedev stood next to Lam.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kim has made Russia the priority of his foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and large shipments of weapons, including artillery and ballistic missiles, to help fuel Putin’s war.
