North flaunts drones, ICBMS to Russian and Chinese officials at parade

Russia’s defense minister and a Chinese Politburo member were North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s guests of honor at a nighttime military parade in Pyongyang on Thursday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

A Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile is seen in this photo of a nighttime military parade in Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang on Thursday that was later released by the North's state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on Friday. [YONHAP]

Russia’s defense minister and a Chinese Politburo member were North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s guests of honor at a nighttime military parade featuring long-range missiles and drones in Pyongyang on Thursday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

In photos released by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday, Kim stood on a dais overlooking the parade in Kim Il Sung Square, flanked by Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defense minister, and Li Hongzhong, who serves as both vice chairman on the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo.

Both officials as well as their respective national delegations were invited as the North’s first official post-pandemic guests to join celebrations marking the signing of the armistice on July 27, 1953, which the regime observes as a national holiday.

Thursday marked the 70th anniversary of the end of armed hostilities in the war, which began with a North Korean invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950. The war ended in a stalemate after U.S.-led United Nations forces repelled the initial invasion, but were forced back from the North by the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army.

The parade, which the North used to underline its claim of victory in the war, featured the regime’s latest hardware, including new aerial drones that closely resemble U.S. unmanned surveillance aircraft Global Hawk, Haeil underwater drones that the regime tested in March and April, and the regime’s much-touted Hwasong-17 liquid-fuel and Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBMs.

In this photo released by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen standing on a dais overlooking the military parade that took place in Pyongyang on Thursday night to mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. On the left stands Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, while Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong stands on the right. [YONHAP]

In a break with usual practice, the North’s ballistic missiles were paraded prominently in front of the visiting Russian and Chinese officials. The North previously tended to limit overt displays of such advanced weapons, which have been banned under multiple resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council, to visiting dignitaries.

Both China and Russia are permanent veto-wielding members of the Security Council. The two countries have repeatedly vetoed or tabled efforts by the United States and other council members in recent years to pass additional sanctions against the North for its continued defiance of previous Security Council resolutions.

Newly developed North Korean aerial drones were shown at Thursday's military parade in downtown Pyongyang, according to the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on Friday. [YONHAP]

According to the KCNA, the “newly developed” aerial drones “hovered overhead in demonstration flights” during the parade, showcasing the regime’s progress in realizing a key item that had featured in Kim’s wish list of advanced weaponry.

The state news agency also described the Hwasong-18 ICBMs as the North’s “most powerful and crucial means” to “overwhelmingly” respond to purported nuclear threats from the regime’s enemies.

Suspected Haeil underwater drones that North Korea said it had tested in March and April also made an appearance in photos of Thursday's military parade in downtown Pyongyang that were released by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on Friday. [YONHAP]

The Russian and Chinese delegations’ attendance at Thursday’s parade was not missed by the U.S. State Department, with spokesman Vedant Patel on Thursday characterizing their presence as imperiling international security by implicitly condoning the North’s development of banned weapons.

“Russia's support for these unlawful weapons programs by blocking additional action at the Security Council, by participating in events in Pyongyang, celebrating these weapons and failing to crack down on DPRK’s sanction evasion activities — all of this just highlights how detrimental it has become to preserving international peace and security,” Patel said at a press briefing.

“I will also note that, as we have previously said, we believe that Beijing has influence over Pyongyang and we hope that it will use that influence to encourage Pyongyang to return to dialogue and refrain from destabilizing activities,” he added.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]