North Korea flaunted what looked like a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) during a parade on Thursday night, BBC News reported on Saturday, citing state media.
The display of North Korea's "world's strongest weapon" followed a rare gathering of the ruling Workers' Party, during which leader Kim Jong Un slammed the U.S. as his country's "biggest enemy" and vowed to strengthen the country's nuclear arsenal.
The nation's state media released 100 images of a mass celebration of North Korea's national armory, including rocket launchers and tanks all flanked by rows of marching soldiers without any face coverings.
At the end, a number of what military experts said appeared to be a range of new short-range ballistic missiles, including the submarine variants, rolled into the capital's square on trucks.
Spectators, noticeably without any face masks despite a local campaign to curb the coronavirus, waved flags and cheered as the soldiers rolled out some of North Korea's most advanced weapons.
Experts said the new missile was a previously unseen weapon. "New year, new Pukguksong," North Korea expert Ankit Panda commented on Twitter, using the North Korean name for their submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
During an Workers' Party congress, Kim also disclosed plans to boost the nation's economy, hit by U.S.-led sanctions over the country's nuclear activities, pandemic-linked border blockades and natural calamities that damaged agricultural crops.
"The most powerful weapon in the world -- submarine-launched ballistic missile -- entered the square one after another, powerfully showcasing the might of the revolutionary armed forces," the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
Michael Duitsman, researcher at the California-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, on Twitter said that the new missile "definitely looks longer."
Unlike North Korea's October parade, Thursday's military show of force did not demonstrate the country's biggest intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are believed to be capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to any point in the U.S.
The hermit state has already test-fired multiple submarine-launched ballistic missiles from under the ocean, and military experts said the country is seeking to develop a fully functional submarine to carry the weapons.
Under Kim's leadership North Korea has made major progress in its weapons program, which Kim asserts is necessary to defend the country against a possible American attack.
Meanwhile, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister who is a member of the ruling party's Central Committee, denounced South Korea's military for saying it had detected signs of a military parade in the capital on Sunday.
