Anchor: North Korea has showcased what it claims is its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile to date. During celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party, the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, pledged to strengthen national defense but stopped short of issuing direct threats toward Seoul or Washington, as top officials from China, Russia and Vietnam looked on.

Report: North Korea unveiled a new intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM), the Hwasong-20, during a massive military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party.

According to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) on Saturday, the parade was held the previous night at Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square, where leader Kim Jong-un presided over the event in the presence of high-ranking officials and foreign dignitaries including Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam and Russian Security Council Deputy Chair Dmitry Medvedev.

The KCNA described the newly revealed Hwasong-20 as the regime’s “most powerful nuclear strategic weapons system.” 

The missile, believed to feature an upgraded range or payload capacity, is thought to enhance the North’s capability to strike the U.S. mainland. 

Its appearance follows last month’s test of a new high-thrust solid-fuel engine that Pyongyang said would power the next-generation ICBM.

The parade also featured other advanced weaponry, including hypersonic missiles, long-range strategic cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and the Chonma-20 main battle tank, along with an upgraded 600-millimeter multiple rocket launcher.

In his speech, Kim Jong-un called for the North Korean military to continue evolving into an “invincible entity capable of annihilating all threats.” 

While vowing to oppose “injustice and hegemony,” a remark that may be interpreted as an indirect reference to the United States, Kim notably made no direct mention of Washington or Seoul.

Kim also made an apparent reference to the North’s troop deployment to the Ukraine war, saying the “heroic fighting spirit displayed and victory achieved on foreign battlefields” demonstrated the military’s ideological and spiritual perfection.

Medvedev later met with Kim and expressed appreciation for Pyongyang’s cooperation, while Kim called for efforts to further strengthen North Korea-Russia ties.

Kim’s daughter Ju-ae, who has frequently appeared at past military events, was absent from the parade.
Yun Sohyang, KBS World Radio News.