Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to strengthen the nuclear capabilities of his country at fastest rate during the military parade.
Kim vowed to boost the country’s nuclear capabilities at “the fastest rate” at the parade celebrating the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army (KPRA) on Monday night, citing the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) Yonhap News Agency reported.
The KPRA, an anti-Japanese guerilla force, was created by national founder Kim II-sung in 1932. The country will make thorough preparations for using nuclear deterrence anytime, the current North Korean leader said.
“Our basic mission regarding nuclear power is to deter war but our nuclear weapons cannot be confined solely within the boundaries of preventing a war until a situation is created that we never hope to witness in this land,” Kim was quoted as saying.
He also warned that any forces seeking military confrontation will cease to exist, saying that the North is “thoroughly prepared” to carry out its mission of nuclear deterrence anytime, Yonhap said.
The North held the parade at Kim Il Sung Square on Monday marking its first military parade to celebrate the KPRA anniversary and 12th major military parade under the leadership of current leader Kim, who took power about a decade ago, according to Yonhap.
During the parade, banned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) were also displayed. In March, Pyongyang had tested its largest-known ICBM for the first time since 2017.
According to BBC, the parade also featured submarine-launched ballistic missiles in addition to hypersonic missiles.
The country has usually held such kind of parades on national founder’s birth anniversary on April 15, the ruling Workers’ Party’s foundation anniversary on October 10 or the nation’s foundation on September 9.Â
