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North Korea displays ICBMs at parade in demonstration of nuclear capability

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends parade that took place at night in celebrations for 75th founding anniversary of country's army.

Reuters

Satellite imagery from the US-based firm Maxar Technologies showed military vehicles and crowds in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square.

North Korea has displayed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and other weapons during a nighttime military parade, calling them a demonstration of the country's "greatest" nuclear attack capability, the North's state media reported.

The parade, attended by leader Kim Jong Un, took place on Wednesday night in celebrations for the 75th founding anniversary of North Korea's army, the state news agency KCNA said on Thursday.

Earlier, satellite imagery from the US-based firm Maxar Technologies showed military vehicles and crowds in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square.

Among the systems on display were the country's largest-yet ICBM, the Hwasong-17, followed by what some analysts said could be a new solid-fuel ICBM.

"Following the apparent Hwasong-17 ICBM pairs are four unidentified but apparently similarly sized canisterised systems," Joseph Dempsey, a defence researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said on Twitter.

Mockups displayed at parades

Ankit Panda of the United States–based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said the canisterised ICBM might be one seen during a 2017 parade, and which has so far not been tested.

Most of the country's largest ballistic missiles use liquid fuel, which requires them to be loaded with propellant at their launch site - a time-consuming process.

Developing a solid-fuel ICBM has long been seen as a key goal for the country, as it could make its nuclear missiles harder to spot and destroy during a conflict.

It is unclear how close the suspected new missile could be to testing. North Korea has sometimes displayed mockups at the parades.

The country has forged ahead with its ballistic missile programme, launching larger and more advanced missiles than ever before, despite United Nations Security Council resolutions and sanctions.

SOURCE: Reuters