North Korea boasts of 'invincible power' ahead of key military anniversary
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's state media boasted Sunday that its armed forces had "gained invincible power" under leader Kim Jong Un as it prepares for a major army holiday that analysts say could be marked with a military parade or major weapons test.
North Korea on Monday celebrates the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army and the nuclear-armed country has staged military parades in the past to mark key holidays.
Pyongyang has carried out more than a dozen weapons tests this year, including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full range for the first time since 2017.
A report by the North's official Korean Central News Agency listed the history of the country's military achievements, from its battles against the United States in the 1950-53 Korean War to smaller conflicts.
"All the people of the country are looking back deeply on the history of the 100 victory of our revolutionary armed forces," it said.
The report added Kim had further propelled the country's military might with his "genius military ideology, excellent military command and unparalleled courage and guts".
"Our revolutionary armed forces have gained invincible power that the world cannot ignore," it said, in an apparent reference to the North's nuclear arsenal.
Signs that Pyongyang was preparing for its "biggest ever military parade" to mark the upcoming anniversary have been detected, Yonhap news agency reported, citing multiple unnamed government sources.
The parade was likely to take place at midnight, the report said, involving around 20,000 troops and the North's most sophisticated weaponry including the "monster" Hwasong-17 ICBM as well as hypersonic and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
North Korea had been widely expected to showcase its military strength to mark the 110th anniversary of the birth of its founding leader and Kim's grandfather Kim Il Sung on April 15, but instead, the day was celebrated with a civilian parade.
Satellite imagery has also shown continued preparations, with thousands of North Korean troops and scores of vehicles marching in formation at a parade training ground in Pyongyang.
"Typically, troops depart the training ground as soon as the parade is complete, so their presence further indicates an upcoming event," Martyn Williams, a fellow at the Stimson Center, wrote on the 38 North website.
US and South Korean officials and analysts have also warned Pyongyang could resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time since 2017, citing renewed activity at its key testing site.
South Korean officials were briefing the White House Thursday on the outcome of their pathfinding meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Seoul has already publicized that North Korea offered talks with the United States on denuclearization and normalizing ties, a potential diplomatic opening after a year of escalating tensions over the North's nuclear and missile tests. The rival Koreas also agreed to hold a leadership summit in late April.
Top Trump administration officials were getting a chance to hear firsthand from South Korean national security director, Chung Eui-yong, who led the delegation that went to Pyongyang. — Associated Press
South Korea's defense ministry says Thursday it was "closely monitoring" a North Korean nuclear reactor site after local media reported its operations had been temporarily suspended, potentially to extract weapons-grade plutonium.
The Donga Ilbo newspaper reports earlier in the day that intelligence sources in Seoul and Washington had detected signs the five-megawatt reactor in Yongbyon had temporarily stopped operations late last month.
The suspension could be an indication that spent fuel rods are being reprocessed to extract plutonium for use in nuclear weapons, the report cited a government source as saying. — AFP
State media reports that North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature has enshrined the country's status as a nuclear weapons power in the constitution.
"The DPRK's nuclear force-building policy has been made permanent as the basic law of the state, which no one is allowed to flout with anything," leader Kim Jong Un said at a meeting of the State People's Assembly that was held Tuesday and Wednesday, the KCNA news agency says.
DPRK is the acronym for the country's formal name. — AFP
State news agency KCNA reports that North Korea announced it had built a "tactical nuclear attack submarine" as part of its effort to strengthen its naval force.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over the unveiling ceremony on Wednesday, saying the new sub was part of a "push forward with the nuclear weaponization of the Navy in the future", according to KCNA.
The launching of submarine No. 841, named the Hero Kim Kun Ok, "heralded the beginning of a new chapter for bolstering up the naval force of the DPRK", the KCNA report said, referring to the country by the abbreviation of its formal name. — AFP
State-controlled media reports Sunday that North Korea staged a "simulated tactical nuclear attack" drill at the weekend with mock atomic warheads attached to two long-range cruise missiles that were test-fired into the ocean.
The Korean Central News Agency says the operation early Saturday was a "counteraction drill" in response to joint military activity by US and South Korean forces that KCNA said has escalated tensions in the region.
"A firing drill for simulated tactical nuclear attack was conducted at dawn of September 2 to warn the enemies of the actual nuclear war danger," KCNA reports. — AFP
Seoul's military says North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles off its west coast on Saturday, the latest in a string of recent Pyongyang military actions.
The launches come three days after the North launched a pair of short-range ballistic missiles as part of a "tactical nuclear strike drill" prompted by the annual US-South Korean Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, which always infuriate the reclusive regime.
Pyongyang views such the drills as a rehearsal for invasion while the two allies say they are defensive in nature. — AFP
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