North Korea used an unusual predawn military parade Saturday to show off a massive new intercontinental ballistic missile, with the U.S. calling the display “disappointing.”
The parade marking the 75th anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party also featured an emotional speech by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in which he urged the country to remain firm as it grapples with "huge challenges” spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of devastating typhoons and a tough U.S.-led sanctions regime over his nuclear program.
But the new long-range missile, which appeared to be based on an earlier weapon known as the Hwasong-15, stole the show, rolling through Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square on a transporter vehicle with 22 wheels, larger than anything previously displayed by the North.