Korean leader Kim Jong Un shows off his daughter and new missiles
Nuclear-armed North Korea showcased its missile production muscle during a nighttime parade, state media reported on Thursday (Feb 9), displaying more intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) than ever before and hinting at a new solid-fuel weapon.
North Korea held the widely anticipated nighttime military parade in Pyongyang on Wednesday to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of its army, state news agency KCNA said.
Leader Kim Jong Un showed of his daughter in parade, who is expected to be the future leader in North Korea.
On the other hand, state media released imagery showing as many as 11 Hwasong-17s, North Korea's largest ICBMs, which are suspected to have the range to strike nearly anywhere in the world with a nuclear warhead.
ADVANCED MISSILES DESPITE UN
The country has forged ahead with its ballistic missile programme, launching larger and more advanced missiles despite United Nations Security Council resolutions and sanctions.
"This time, Kim Jong Un let North Korea’s expanding tactical and long-range missile forces speak for themselves," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. "The message Pyongyang wants to send internationally, demonstrating its capabilities to deter and coerce, will likely come in the form of solid-fuel missile tests and detonation of a miniaturised nuclear device."
The Hwasong-17s were followed by what some analysts said could be a prototype or mockup of a new solid-fuel ICBM in canister launchers.
