North Korea's Military Parade Showcases 'Nuclear Delivery Systems' from Inter-Korean Use to ICBMs... Including New SLBM

Full Mobilization of Operational Means by Type
Completed Painting, Showcasing Deployment of Hypersonic Missiles in Combat

Additional Production of 'Hwaseong-17' Draws Attention
Seemingly Indirect Rebuttal to South Korea's Announcement of 'Launch Failure and Deceptive Propaganda'

North Korea held a military parade at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang on the evening of the 25th to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army (anti-Japanese guerrilla forces), according to the Korean Central News Agency on the 26th. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] North Korea mobilized a full range of nuclear delivery systems, from tactical guided missiles aimed at the South to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of striking the U.S. mainland, during the military parade held to mark the 90th anniversary of the 'Anti-Japanese Partisan' forces.

According to articles and related photos released on the 26th by the Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun, the parade held the previous day at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang featured various missile units developed by North Korea in recent years, appearing in formation by unit. The news agency described the order of the units, emphasizing expressions such as 'latest' and 'advanced,' stating, "The latest tactical missile units, with high mobility and annihilative striking power, carry the spirit of annihilation that will pulverize invading war equipment before the enemy can react..." Shin Jong-woo, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, analyzed, "Older models like Hwasong-12 and Hwasong-14 were not confirmed in the photos," adding, "It appears that the parade was composed mainly of recently developed weapon systems to showcase operational deployment capabilities."

There are also claims that the display of various nuclear weapon delivery systems at the parade should be interpreted in connection with Kim Jong-un’s statement that "nuclear weapons cannot be confined solely to the mission of preventing war." Ryu Seong-yeop, a research fellow at the 21st Century Military Research Institute, said, "This confirms a change in North Korea’s nuclear strategy, acquiring first strike capabilities through strategic nuclear weapons and large carriers like the Hwasong-17, enabling the initiation of nuclear war," and added, "It is a declaration of intent to strengthen aggressive capabilities by enhancing nuclear surprise attack capabilities."

New weapon systems such as ballistic missiles were also spotted at the parade. Notably, a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) was unveiled, with a larger warhead and about 1 meter longer than the SLBM first introduced at the party congress parade in January last year. Considering its size, analysts suggest it is intended for deployment on the 3,000-ton class submarine nearing completion at the Sinpo Shipyard.

The 'mini SLBM,' which North Korea claimed successfully launched underwater from a submarine in October last year, also appeared at the parade. The mini SLBM features a more pointed warhead. Analysts interpret the diversification of SLBM types by range as a demonstration that operational deployment is imminent.

Additionally, several hypersonic missiles 'Hwasong-8' with newly painted bodies and elongated warheads were seen, along with the launch vehicle formations of new tactical guided weapons fired on the 16th. A tank formation equipped with an active protection system (APS) was also spotted. The tank APS uses radar to detect incoming projectiles and intercepts them with missiles as a defensive measure.

The highlight of the parade, as expected by the military and experts, was the ICBM Hwasong-17. First introduced with four units at the October 2020 parade, the Hwasong-17 has undergone at least three performance test launches this year alone. The last, on the 16th of last month, ended in failure due to an airburst. Based on the initially revealed four units, a simple calculation suggests only one missile remains, but photos from the parade show at least three Hwasong-17 missiles deployed. Experts interpret this as evidence of additional mass production.

Moreover, the parade’s introduction of the Hwasong-17 emphasized the launch date of 'March 24,' drawing attention. This is interpreted as a veiled rebuttal to the South Korean military’s dismissal of that launch as 'deceptive propaganda.' There is also speculation that North Korea may conduct another test launch of the Hwasong-17 next month.

Previously, after failing to launch the Hwasong-17 on the 16th of last month, North Korea conducted a maximum performance ICBM launch on the 24th and claimed the next day that it was a 'new Hwasong-17.' The South Korean military, based on analysis of multiple intelligence assets, reported to the National Assembly that North Korea likely launched the existing Hwasong-15 to compensate for the prior failure and falsely announced it as the Hwasong-17.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.