North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un is rolling out the red carpet this week for a host of foreign dignitaries, and all signs suggest he’ll be showing off his country’s latest military hardware in a pomp-filled parade.

North Korea has kept celebratory plans for the 80th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea on Friday tightly under wraps – much like the secretive and isolated state has done in the past with significant dates.

But there have been signs that Kim has spent months preparing for a major parade in the capital Pyongyang, potentially at night and involving tens of thousands of people, according to the South Korean military.

Huge displays of carefully choreographed propaganda involving massive crowds and meticulously rehearsed performances have long been a hallmark of the North Korean regime, particularly around key anniversaries.

The Workers’ Party of Korea is the sole ruling party of North Korea, blending communism with the words, sayings and ideals of the Kim dynasty, who have imposed their authoritarian rule on the country for three generations.

Military watchers play close attention to what North Korea chooses to show off at such events.

Analysts have raised the possibility that North Korea’s next-generation Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), its new Hwasong-11 Ma hypersonic glide vehicle, and other advanced weapons systems will be on display.

The anniversary celebration comes a month after the heavily sanctioned Kim scored a major diplomatic victory by traveling to Beijing for China’s massive military parade, where he had the rare chance to stand alongside political heavyweights Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the global stage.

Kim emerged from the visit with deeper strategic ties and a renewed friendship with China, North Korea’s longtime political and economic patron, as well as an increased vigor to pursue his missile and nuclear weapons program.

North Korea and its new military ally Russia have repeatedly affirmed their closer relationship since signing a mutual defense pact last year, and Kim has sent thousands of troops, missiles and munitions to assist Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

In a sign of those continued good ties, China and Russia are sending delegations led notably by their number 2s to the celebrations in Pyongyang.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will have front row seats at the event which, according to satellite imagery of apparent rehearsals, could include a large-scale mass gymnastics performance.

Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam will also attend and Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith enjoyed a warm welcome that included a banquet and a 21-gun salute when he arrived in the country on Tuesday.

What to expect?

Previous North Korean military parades have been used as an opportunity to showcase the country’s latest developments in advanced weaponry and missiles that, in theory, could threaten the United States.

Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), said last week that the military detected movements of vehicles and military equipment ahead of the expected parade.

Last month, Kim observed a test of a new high-thrust solid-fueled rocket engine for its newest ICBM, the Hwasong-20.

Compared with liquid-fueled missiles, solid-fueled rockets are more stable, and can be moved more easily to avoid detection before their launch, which can be initiated within minutes, experts say.

Over the weekend, Kim attended an exhibition featuring some of the country’s latest weapons, including a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) equipped with a hypersonic warhead feature, labeled “Hwasong-11Ma,” according to photos released by North Korean state media KCNA.

The Hwasong-11 series, North Korea’s variant of Russia’s Iskander missile, has an estimated maximum range of approximately 800 kilometers (497 miles).

Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said North Korea could also unveil advanced arms including AI-powered systems or various unmanned vehicles, during the parade.

“The weapons shown in the parade will likely be on an unprecedented scale,” Hong said. “Rather than focusing simply on large numbers, North Korea seem to be set to prioritize revealing systems that are impactful in capability.”

However, it is uncertain whether the highly anticipated Hwasong-20 will be shown, Hong added, as it hasn’t had a full launch test.

Observers are watching for possible test-launches of new, next-generation weapons around the October celebrations, Hong added.

Kim’s illegal nuclear weapons program has transformed North Korea into the most heavily sanctioned state in the world.

In the past few years, the country has ramped up its weapons program and made efforts to bolster its nuclear capability — including a secret missile base near its northern border with China, which could pose a “potential nuclear threat” to much of East Asia and the US.

Secrecy and security

Secrecy is part and parcel of North Korean parades, especially when Kim is in attendance.

CNN correspondent Will Ripley attended the 70th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party exactly 10 years ago.

“No one seemed to know when it would actually begin — not even our government minders. That’s how things work in North Korea: you wait for hours until someone finally tells you to move,” he said.

Foreigners were sequestered to the Yanggakdo Hotel, which sits on its own island in the middle of the Taedong River in Pyongyang.

“The location isn’t an accident. The island makes it easier for the authorities to control movement in and out, so guests like us can’t wander the city alone. You can look out the windows and see Pyongyang on all sides, but it might as well be another world,” Ripley said.

When journalists were finally herded to the parade grounds, they went through layers of security checks. Phone and laptops had to be left behind.

“When the parade began, the vast square filled with tens of thousands of people. Columns of soldiers marched in perfect step, their boots hitting the pavement with a sharp, rhythmic snap — the famous goose step,” Ripley said.

A warning to US bases in South Korea

North Korea has a long history of fraught relations with the United States and South Korea, but now they’re particularly icy, with Kim frequently railing against both countries.

The North Korean leader last weekend said he had assigned “special assets to the major targets of our concern” and pledged to adopt additional military measures to respond to the US’s expanded military assets in South Korea.

“In direct proportion to the US military’s arms buildup in… (South Korea), our strategic concern about this region has also grown,” Kim said. “The enemy, I think, will have to worry about which direction their security environment is moving in.”

Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at South Korea’s Kyungnam University, said the “special assets” likely refer to “advanced strategic weapon systems encompassing tactical nuclear weapons and their delivery platforms, hypersonic missiles, and potentially AI-based drones and cyber capabilities.”

Kim’s speech, which referenced South Korean security and criticized US military “buildup,” suggested “that these weapons are intended to directly threaten South Korea and US assets in the region,” Lim said.

He viewed Kim’s comments as “an explicit warning that US bases and key facilities in South Korea could become potential targets of North Korean strikes.”

But in contrast to his usual anti-US rhetoric, Kim recently said that he had “fond memories” of President Donald Trump and that there is no reason to avoid dialogue with Washington — if it stops insisting his country give up its nuclear weapons.

South Korea will host a major summit of regional leaders later this month and Trump is expected to attend.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is viewed as a key opportunity for Trump to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi.

But his presence in the region could also put him in close proximity once again with Kim — six years after talks with Pyongyang during Trump’s last administration collapsed.

Trump signaled last month that he would be keen to sit down with Kim, though some say a meeting is unlikely.

“I will do that, and we’ll have talks. He’d like to meet with me,” Trump claimed. “We look forward to meeting with him, and we’ll make relations better.” (CNN)

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