North Korea has introduced a new type of ballistic submarine-launched missile which is described by state media as “the world’s most powerful weapon”.
Several missiles were fired at a show hosted and overseen by leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported.
The military power show comes just days before the inauguration of Joe Biden as US president.
It also follows a rare political meeting where Mr Kim decried the US as his country’s “biggest enemy”.
The Ballistic Missile
Photographs released by the North Korean state media show at least 4 large black and white weapon missiles flashing past the flag-raising crowd.
Analysts noted that it was a weapon that had not been seen before. “New Year, new Pukguksong,” wrote North Korean expert Ankit Panda, using the North Korean name for their submarine-launched (SLBMs) submarines.
Dressed in a leather jacket and fur hat, Mr Kim was shown smiling and waving his hands as he watched the show at Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square, which also included infantry troops, artillery and tanks.
“The world’s most powerful weapon, submarine-launch ballistic missile, entered the square one after another, powerfully demonstrating the might of the revolutionary armed forces,” the official Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim Jong Un’s Motives
The event on Thursday did not feature the North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which was unveiled at a major military exhibition in October. That huge weapon is believed to be able to deliver a nuclear warhead to anywhere in the US, and its size had surprised even seasoned analysts when it was put on show last year.
The country’s latest display of its arsenal comes at the end of a five-yearly congress of the ruling Workers’ Party.
In a speech to members last week, Mr Kim promised to increase North Korea’s nuclear weapons and military capabilities, outlining a range of required weapons including long-range missiles that could be launched on land or at sea and “massive wars”.
He also said that the US “is Pyongyang’s biggest obstacle to our transformation and our greatest enemy … whoever is in power, the real nature of its policy against North Korea will never change”.
Under Mr. Kim’s leadership North Korea has made rapid progress in its weapons program, saying it is necessary to defend itself against possible attacks by the United States.
The unveiling of the new missiles appears designed to send the incoming Biden administration a message of the North’s growing military prowess, say experts.
“They’d like us to notice that they’re getting more proficient with larger solid rocket boosters,” Mr Panda tweeted, noting what appeared to be new solid-fuel short-range ballistic missiles on display too. These missiles can be launched more quickly than liquid-fuelled varieties.
US-North Korea Relations
Four years ago, Pyongyang had a strained relationship with the US under President Donald Trump. Mr Kim and Mr Trump have engaged in mutual insults and threats of war before an unprecedented summit in Singapore in 2018 and to announce love by the outgoing US leader.
Aside from the apparent warmth of relations, little is being done in negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear program talks and the second summit in Hanoi in 2019 was disrupted after the US rejected Pyongyang’s demands for relief from sanctions.
