North Korea to Flaunt Latest Weaponry at Military Parade

Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said Wednesday that North Korea’s nuclear missiles are capable of hitting the continental United States, but added the us military can intercept a North Korean missile.

Photos taken by the US-Korea Institute on Tuesday show around 800 tents, more than 600 trucks and more than 200 armoured vehicles at a former air base in the east of Pyongyang.

The likely centerpiece of the parade, ballistic missile launchers, can’t be seen yet, but seven drones are visible on mobile launchers.

The parade, expected to take place Saturday, is one of North Korea’s most significant holidays – next to the birthdays of the country’s founder Kim Illinois Sung and his son Kim Jong Illinois.

In 2012, Mr. Kim said in a speech that citizens should “not have to tighten their belts again”, and North Korea’s state media frequently tout the construction of apartment buildings and leisure facilities as examples of progress. They also were ordered to give money to local officials, ostensibly to chip in for the costs of the celebration, the website reported.

Liu’s visit to Pyongyang comes as speculation that North Korea will launch a long-range rocket around the anniversary has subsided.

Back in August, North Korea threatened to attack the United States over holding multinational military exercises with thousands of military forces mainly from South Korea and also Australia, Britain, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France and New Zealand.

“But membership is not as coveted as it once was”, says Michael Madden, publisher of NK Leadership Watch, a site devoted to research and analysis on North Korea’s political and military elite.

North Korea retained its hold of the group lead with 10 points, three clear of the Azkals. North Korea is set to hold a huge military parade on Saturday to mark the anniversary with Liu Yunshan, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s politburo standing committee, attending.

Residents and regular visitors said tanks belching black smoke were seen barreling down thoroughfares on recent evenings in apparent preparation for anniversary events.

Blinken emphasized China’s responsibility in deterring North Korea’s nuclear program, claiming that, as virtually its sole trading partner, China exercises more influence over North Korea than any other country.

Though both institutions are strong, the power balance among various government organs in North Korea is a delicate one and maintaining that balance is a key to keeping Kim’s leadership solid and unchallenged. Even so, further analysis of the missiles and other weapons on display – which in the past have included mock-ups or fakes – could give experts clues to the North’s actual capabilities.

The emergence of private market enterprise in North Korea has provided an alternative path to “get ahead” and its participants don’t want to be saddled with the often time-consuming duties that party membership demands.