North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has showed off his military’s most powerful weapons, including an apparently new intercontinental ballistic missile, at a massive parade.Among those in attendance were Chinese Premier Li Qiang, a delegation from Russia led by former President Dmitry Medvedev, as well as Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam.The show, which began Friday night in the rain and marked the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), demonstrated Kim’s growing diplomatic footing and his relentless drive to build a massive weapons arsenal.North Korea‘s official Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) said Saturday that the show featured a new, yet-to-be-tested intercontinental ballistic missile called the Hwasong-20, which it described as North Korea’s “most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system.”
What did Kim say in his speech?
In a speech at the event, Kim said the North Korean military “should continue to grow into an invincible entity that destroys all threats.”Photos and videos from North Korean and Russian state media showed thousands of spectators in attendance.KCNA said the columns of soldiers who marched during the event included “the invincible overseas operations unit that fully demonstrated the spirit of the Korean people,” suggesting they were troops Kim had sent to Russia to join the war effort against Ukraine.Kim also held talks on Friday with Medvedev, who said the sacrifice of North Korean soldiers fighting for Moscow in its military offensive agaisnt Ukraine proved the trust in relations between the two countries.Kim told Medvedev he hopes to continue strengthening cooperation with Moscow and to closely engage in diverse exchanges to achieve common goals, KCNA said.
