Kim Jong Un was expected to preside over a toned-down military parade Sunday designed to showcase North Korea’s strength without jeopardizing his efforts t
SEOUL – Kim Jong Un was expected to preside over a toned-down military parade Sunday designed to showcase North Korea’s strength without jeopardizing his efforts to rejoin the international community.
While Kim is likely to mark the 70th anniversary of his grandfather’s regime with columns of goose-stepping soldiers and armored vehicles, analysts said he would take care displaying more provocative hardware. Showing off advancements in missiles capable of striking the U. S. risks irking President Donald Trump, who said in June that North Korea is “no longer a nuclear threat.”
“Kim wants to bask in the glory of his achievement and show to the world that he is someone to be taken seriously,” said Markus Schiller, a missile expert and founder of the Munich-based security consulting firm ST Analytics. “There is no need to display something new.”
An analysis of satellite imagery published Tuesday by the website 38 North suggested that Sunday’s parade would “likely be considerably larger” than a similar event earlier this year. No large mobile missile launchers were observed, although such equipment could be kept undercover until just before the event.
The parade comes at a delicate time, as Kim presses for a peace declaration to formally end the war North Korea and China fought against U. S.-led forces from 1950-53. Kim got to the bargaining table in part by vowing not to resume nuclear tests, and he could use peace talks to legitimize his regime and get international sanctions relaxed.
The U. S.’s newly appointed special representative for North Korea, former Ford Motor Co.
