By: Micaela Burrow, Daily Caller News Foundation
North Korea showed off a massively expanded intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) arsenal capable of ferrying nuclear warheads to the U.S. in a Wednesday night parade, according to media reports.
The highlight of the parade featured at least 11 of North Korea’s most up-to-date Hwasong-17 ICBMs and a mock-up of a more advanced version that can deploy faster and evade detection, state media photos showed, according to The Wall Street Journal. North Korea has never displayed that many nuclear-capable missiles at once, signaling the country’s resolve to achieve “tremendous nuclear strike capability,” state media said, and overpower U.S. defenses.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and his young daughter, who is seen to be Kim’s successor, attended the army’s 75th anniversary parade, the WSJ reported.
“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, told Reuters. “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.”
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