As Winter Olympics commence, Kim Jong Un determined to show he "can control the narrative in the region"
SEOUL — North Korea has managed to dominate the run-up to the 2018 Winter Olympics — first by just deciding to participate, then by sending a 550 person delegation, and now by staging a massive military parade on the eve of the Games opening ceremonies.
CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports North Korea put on a major show of force to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its army. Tens of thousands of soldiers marched in Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang.
The Kim Jong Un regime also proudly paraded many of its weapons of war –including two different versions of its intercontinental ballistic missiles, believed to be capable of reaching the United States. Kim Jong Un and his generals watched the parade from seats above the procession route through the capital.
Shea Cotton, an expert on the North’s weapons program, says the parade is, « probably North Korea’s way of trying to show that it is relevant, that it can control the narrative in the region. »
But he notes that if Kim was trying to look more rational by engaging with South Korea on the Olympics, the display of military power is an odd way to show it.
