SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has taken his young daughter to a huge military parade, a display of new additions to his growing nuclear arsenal, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the United States. , state media said on Thursday.
North Korean footage from Wednesday night’s parade in the capital Pyongyang showed Kim in a black coat and wide-brimmed hat, who attended the event with his wife and daughter, another public appearance for the girl. Kim smiled and raised her hand from a balcony as thousands of soldiers filed through the floodlit Kim Il Sung Square, named after her grandfather and founder of the nation.
The parade celebrated the 75th anniversary of the North Korean military, after weeks of preparations involving crowds of soldiers and civilians mobilized to glorify Kim’s rule and his fierce campaign to consolidate the country as a nuclear power.
Reports in state media did not immediately indicate whether Kim had made a speech during the event. The president met on Monday with his military leadership and ordered to expand the military maneuvers, within an escalation with provocative weapons demonstrations and while tensions grow with his neighbors and Washington.
The Korean Central News Agency said the parade had included various nuclear-capable weapons, including tactical nuclear weapons that would target South Korea, and CIMB, which the agency described as crucial weapons that support “full, full-force confrontation.” to power” against the enemies of the North.
Images of the parade taken by commercial satellites and released by Maxar Technologies Inc. showed huge trucks carrying missiles through the main street of the square, before thousands of spectators.
Lee Sung-jun, a spokesman for the South Korean General Staff, said during a press conference that the South Korean and US militaries were carefully analyzing the images and reports to assess the displayed weapons.
North Korea broke a record for weapons tests last year. Among the dozens of missiles it launched in 2022 were systems that could carry nuclear weapons, designed to hit targets in South Korea and the US mainland.
Those tests were accompanied by combative declarations and a new law that threatens pre-emptive nuclear strikes against its neighbors and the United States in a long series of situations.
