North Korea Victory Day Military Parade... Focus on Diversification Over New Weapons (Comprehensive)

Listing Existing Weapon Systems Instead of New ICBMs
Unmanned Attack Drones Introduced but Performance Questioned

North Korea's military parade held in Pyongyang on the 27th was evaluated as showcasing a variety of weapons rather than new ones. It emphasized military strength through the combined forces of the army, navy, and air force, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), rather than new weapon systems.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 28th, the Korean Central News Agency reported on the parade held the previous day, marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, known as 'Victory Day,' stating that "strategic reconnaissance UAVs and multipurpose attack UAVs, newly developed and produced to be equipped by our air force, performed demonstration flights circling above the parade ground."

North Korea concluded the parade formation with ICBMs. The latest solid-fuel ICBM, the Hwasong-18, was led into the parade by the Missile General Bureau's 2nd Red Flag Battalion. Following it was the liquid-fuel ICBM Hwasong-17, previously considered North Korea's most powerful missile before the Hwasong-18's appearance, carried on a transporter erector launcher (TEL) honored with the title 'Hero.' Additionally, tank armored divisions, mechanized infantry divisions, aviation squadrons, and artillery battalions marched ahead of the strategic weapon units, including the ICBMs.

At the exhibition held the previous day, the latest Hwasong-18 ICBM was displayed both mounted on a TEL inside a canister (cylindrical container) and separately outside the canister. The hypersonic missile previously revealed under the name Hwasong-8 was newly named the 'ground-to-ground medium-range Hwasong-12Na' and was showcased as a derivative of the existing medium-range ballistic missile (IRBM) Hwasong-12. Also presented was the short-range ballistic missile 'North Korean version of Iskander' (KN-23), which performs evasive maneuvers during its terminal flight phase.

Unlike the February 8 parade marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army, where the Hwasong-18 was first unveiled, this parade did not introduce new weapons other than the UAVs that made their debut the day before. However, the test flights of high-altitude reconnaissance UAVs and attack UAVs during the parade were new. Photos of the 'Armed Equipment Exhibition-2023' event venue, released by North Korea's Rodong Sinmun on the 27th, show UAVs with fuselage shapes similar to the U.S. high-altitude reconnaissance UAV RQ-4 Global Hawk and the attack UAV MQ-9 Reaper.

The aircraft numbers inscribed on the fuselage and the lettering 'Joseon Inmin-gun Gonggun' (Korean People's Army Air Force) resemble those on the South Korean Air Force's Global Hawk fuselage. There is speculation that the design may have been stolen through hacking or other means and replicated identically. There is also a high possibility of deceptive tactical flights during exhibition situations.

Meanwhile, Kang Sun-nam, North Korea's Minister of Defense, who appeared in place of Chairman Kim Jong-un, said in his parade speech, according to the Korean Central News Agency on the 28th, "The U.S. imperialists do not have the option to survive even if they use nuclear weapons against us."

Chairman Kim Jong-un refrained from speaking publicly not only at the parade but also during his meetings, luncheon, and banquet with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and even handed over the microphone to Party Secretary Ri Il-hwan at the 70th anniversary war commemoration report meeting. Since coming to power, Kim has delivered speeches at only 5 out of 14 military parades, so skipping the parade speech is not unprecedented.

However, this Victory Day event, commemorating the 70th anniversary with the attendance of the Russian Defense Minister and Li Hongzhong, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, was expected to carry messages related to the strengthening of the North Korea-China-Russia alliance and international affairs concerning the U.S. and South Korea. The absence of any direct remarks was therefore somewhat surprising.

Although Kim Jong-un is showing an unusual 'silent practice,' analysts suggest that he will soon deliver external messages in the manner he desires.

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