North Korea pledges to strengthen nuclear forces at military parade

 SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to strengthen the country’s nuclear weapons in a speech at a military parade where intercontinental ballistic missiles and other weapons were displayed, a state media outlet said on Tuesday.

© Kcna/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Military aircraft perform a flyover during a parade held to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang, on April 25, in this photo from state media.

The latest high-profile military showcase comes amid signs that North Korea has been stepping up its nuclear capability to pressure the United States and its allies. The parade was held late Monday in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, during celebrations to mark the 90th anniversary of its army’s founding.

The parade follows an unprecedented flurry of weapons tests by North Korea this year that dialed up tensions in the region. North Korea last month resumed testing intercontinental ballistic missiles that can potentially reach the U.S. mainland, after a nearly five-year hiatus.

Officials and analysts in South Korea and the United States recently said there are also signs that North Korea is restoring a nuclear test site that it dismantled in 2018.

Kim, who oversaw the parade, said he would “further strengthen our country’s nuclear forces at a maximum speed,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.

© Kcna/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock A photo released by the official North Korean news agency shows a KN-18 missile displayed in a military parade in Pyongyang, April 25.

“The fundamental mission of our nuclear forces is war deterrence, but our nuclear forces cannot be tied to that one mission of war prevention when an absolutely undesirable situation develops on our territory,” Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA. “If any forces attempt to infringe on our country’s fundamental interests, our nuclear forces cannot but go ahead with the secondary mission,” he said, without elaborating on what the secondary mission would be.

The nighttime military parade showcased North Korea’s latest weapons, including its largest known intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17, according to the KCNA.

U.S. and South Korean officials said North Korea appears to have failed in its initial test of the Hwasong-17 on March 16 and then launched an older version of the ICBM eight days later, claiming it as a successful test of the Hwasong-17.

Photos of the parade in state news reports showed the Hwasong-17 and what appeared to be hypersonic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and other conventional weapons. The parade, which took place at Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square, named after North Korea’s founding father, also featured thousands of marching troops.

© Kcna/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock A photo released by the North Korean news agency shows a new Hwasong-17 missile in a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, April 25.

Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea’s conservative president-elect who promised a tougher stance against North Korea’s military provocations, is set to take office next month. In response to Monday’s parade, his team said in a statement that South Korea should reinforce its alliance with the United States to deter growing North Korean military threats.

“Now that the North Korean nuclear and missile threats have become a severe threat in reality, our most urgent task is to build a deterrence capability against it,” the statement said.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been on the rise since a summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in 2019 collapsed over sanctions relief. Since then, Pyongyang has been rejecting Washington’s offers to resume talks, as the Biden administration has not showed signs of offering the sanctions relief that North Korea seeks.

© Kcna/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock A photo released by the official North Korean news agency shows leader Kim Jong Un presiding over a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, April 25.

The crippling international sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear weapons development, combined with the pandemic shocks of the past two years, have driven the regime’s economy to what it called the “worst-ever situation.”

During a visit to Seoul last week, the U.S. envoy for North Korea policy, Sung Kim, underlined Washington’s willingness to engage with Pyongyang “anywhere without conditions.” He also said the United States and South Korea will respond “responsibly and decisively” to North Korea’s “provocative behavior.”