South Korea’s military was keeping a close watch on North Korea on Tuesday amid signs that the country was preparing to hold a new military parade to showcase its growing nuclear and missile capabilities.
Colonel Kim Jun-rak, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, said, “South Korean and US forces fully observe and monitor North Korean preparations for large-scale events such as a military parade in connection with North Korea’s internal program.” was doing it.” Staff. He did not specify at the news conference what Allied forces would see or when they expected the parade to take place.
North Korea often celebrates major state anniversaries by rolling out thousands of laughing soldiers and its most advanced military hardware at a square in the capital Pyongyang.
There is speculation that its next military parade could take place as early as Thursday when it celebrates the 73rd anniversary of the country’s founding. Another big date is October 10, the 76th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party.
During a military final parade in January, North Korea demonstrated new missiles being developed to fire from submarines as it celebrated the close of a rare Workers’ Party Congress. There, leader Kim Jong Un vowed to expand his nuclear weapons program, which he described as US hostility.
Read also: North Korea seems to have resumed nuclear reactor operation: UN nuclear agency
Meanwhile, the Workers’ Party’s Politburo on Tuesday elected an army general, seen as an influential figure in shaping the country’s ballistic missile program, as the newest member of its powerful presidium, which includes Mr. Kim and four other top North Korean officials. State media said.
Pak Jong Chon is replacing Ri Pyong Chol, another senior military official who experts believe was sacked from the presidium after he was responsible for unspecified lapses in the country’s pandemic response.
Mr Kim accused officials in July of creating a “big crisis” in national anti-virus efforts, but the North never explained what those problems were and has not yet reported a single coronavirus infection.
Last October, North Korea unveiled its largest ever intercontinental ballistic missile ever at a parade marking the party’s 75th anniversary. North’s previous ICBM demonstrated its capability to reach the US mainland during flight tests in 2017.
Any new North Korean parade will likely feature its latest weapons systems that threaten US allies in Asia and the US homeland, and such demonstrations will be seen as an attempt to pressure Washington over stalled nuclear diplomacy.
Washington and Pyongyang are yet to recover from the fallout of a summit between Mr Kim and former President Donald Trump in 2019, when Americans called for a major easing of economic sanctions in exchange for a partial reduction in North Korea’s nuclear capabilities. was rejected.
Mr. Kim has since vowed to strengthen his country’s nuclear deterrence, and until now Biden rejects administration’s proposals for talks, demanding that Washington first abandon its “hostile” policies.
Mr Kim’s powerful sister and other North Korean senior officials last month issued statements rebuking the US and South Korea for continuing joint military exercises, which the North insists are a rehearsal of the offensive, and calls for unspecified countermeasures. Allies who have threatened will face a “security crisis”. Allies say the exercises are defensive in nature, but have canceled or reduced them in recent years to make room for diplomacy or in response to COVID-19.
.