North Korea showcases suspected ballistic missile launchers in nighttime military parade, satellite imagery shows

By Brad Lendon, CNN

    (CNN) -- North Korea held a nighttime military parade on Wednesday, commercial satellite imagery revealed, featuring what appeared to be its newest ballistic missile launchers.

The widely anticipated event, which marked the founding anniversary of its army, comes as North Korea continues to push ahead with the development of nuclear capable weapons amid tensions with the West.

Last year saw North Korea test more missiles than at any time in its history, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could in theory strike the US mainland.

The satellite images, provided by Maxar Technologies, appear to show a number of ballistic missile launchers being paraded past a packed Kim il Sung Square Wednesday night. The square also features a large North Korean flag, the images show.

Earlier on Wednesday, additional satellite imagery taken by Maxar showed preparations for the parade, with at least 17 ballistic missiles lined up outside the square.

The images follow North Korea's testing last March of the Hwasong-17, its first test of an ICBM in five years.

At the time, state media described the launch as a "powerful nuclear war deterrent" and quoted leader Kim Jong Un as saying the country's forces were "fully ready" for potential military confrontation with the United States.

The Kim regime tested a wide array of projectiles last year, from the long-range ICBMs to short-range tactical rockets.

In a year-end speech, Kim called for an "exponential increase" in his country's nuclear weapons arsenal in response to what he claims are threats from South Korea and the United States, according to state media.

Kim said South Korea has become an "undoubted enemy" and its main ally, the US, has increased pressure on the North to the "maximum" level over the past year by frequently deploying its military assets to the Korean Peninsula.

In response, Kim said in the coming year that Pyonyang must mass produce tactical nuclear weapons while developing a new ICBM that would give the North a "quick counterstrike capability."

That year-end speech came as North Korea tested what it claimed was a large, nuclear-capable, multiple-launch rocket system that could put all of South Korea in its range.

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said at the time that Pyongyang had used the past year to demonstrate its ability to perform a range of military strikes.

"Its recent missile launches were not technically impressive. Instead, the high volume of tests at unusual times and from various locations demonstrate that North Korea could launch different types of attack, anytime, and from many directions," Easley said.

Leading up to Wednesday night's parade, analysts said it could be Pyongyang's largest ever, and they were anticipating to see that range of weaponry.

North Korea state media had not reported on the parade as of Thursday morning local time.

North Korea usually holds military parades at night and releases images sometime the next day.

Pyongyang uses the military parades to shore up domestic support for its military programs while sending a signal to the United States, South Korea and others that it is prepared to strike back at any attack.

Kim's likely daughter takes spotlight

Wednesday night's parade followed a lavish banquet a night earlier at which Kim put a girl believed to be his daughter Ju Ae in the spotlight, the latest sign the girl is possibly being groomed as his eventual successor.

Pictures published by the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed the girl walking next to Kim and her mother as they entered the venue for the banquet while military officers applauded.

At the banquet, the girl was seated in the center of the lead table between Kim and her mother.

In a country where the Kim family and the military are all powerful, the presence of the girl at such an important event sends clear signals, said Easley, the Ewha University professor.

"By ostentatiously including his wife and daughter, Kim wants observers at home and abroad to see his family dynasty and the North Korean military as irrevocably linked," he said.

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