Nuclear-armed North Korea unveiled a massive new missile over the weekend that some analysts believe could carry enough warheads to overwhelm existing missile defenses. But is this “new strategic weapon," as North Korea has labeled it, merely a political ploy to increase Pyongyang’s leverage with Washington after next month’s U.S. presidential election?
Coming amid deadlocked denuclearization talks between the two countries, the rollout of the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a military parade Saturday marking the 75th anniversary of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party follows a time-tested pattern by Pyongyang as it seeks to gain the upper hand in negotiations.
But Andrew O’Neil, an expert on the Koreas and a professor at Griffith University in Australia, said that while showcasing the weapon was certainly “a symbolic statement designed to rattle U.S. confidence close to an election and potentially raise the stakes so the U.S. will review sanctions,” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “is the real deal” when it comes to new missiles and his nuclear buildup.