Overview

• State media billed the Hwasong-20 as the country’s most powerful strategic nuclear system, while independent reporting notes ongoing doubts about its guidance accuracy and warhead reentry reliability.
• Kim Jong-un delivered a speech offering warm encouragement to troops and said heroism would be seen in defending the nation as well as in advanced posts of socialist construction, according to KCNA.
• Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev and Vietnam’s To Lam attended the event, and Kim later met Medvedev to pledge deeper cooperation as the Russian official lauded North Korean sacrifices in the war, per their public remarks.
• KCNA said the parade also featured long-range cruise missiles, drone launch vehicles, and surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, presenting what it called the country’s growing defense technology.
• Analysts said the display was aimed at bolstering domestic pride and signaling resolve to the United States and South Korea, with one expert noting it also serves as a potential shop window for foreign arms buyers.