SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a large military parade displaying its new intercontinental ballistic missile in front of visiting international dignitaries, state media KCNA said on Saturday.
The parade, which began late on Friday, marked the 80th anniversary of the foundation of its ruling Workers’ Party and followed celebrations on Thursday.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev, as well as Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam were seen at Kim’s side at the parade, while other foreign dignitaries looked on.
In the military parade, nuclear-armed North Korea displayed its most advanced Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile, described by KCNA as the country’s “strongest nuclear strategic weapon system.”
The Hwasong series of ICBMs has given North Korea the capacity to target anywhere on the US mainland, but questions remain over the sophistication of its guidance system to reach a target, and the ability of a warhead it carries to withstand atmospheric re-entry.
“The Hwasong-20 represents, for the moment, the apotheosis of North Korea’s ambitions for long-range nuclear delivery capabilities. We should expect to see the system tested before the end of this year,” said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“The system is likely designed for the delivery of multiple warheads... Multiple warheads will increase stresses on existing US missile defense systems and augment what Kim sees as necessary to achieve meaningful deterrence effects against Washington.”
Other weapons on display included hypersonic ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, a new type of multiple rocket launcher and a launcher for suicide drones, said Hong Min, North Korea analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
At the military parade, Kim gave a speech in which he expressed “warm encouragement” for North Korean troops in overseas operations, adding its military’s heroism will not only be seen in the defense of North Korea but also in “outposts of socialist construction,” KCNA said.
“Our army should continue to grow into an invincible entity that destroys all threats,” Kim said.
Kim held talks earlier on Friday with Medvedev, who said the sacrifice of North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in its military campaign in Ukraine proved the trust in relations between the two countries.
Kim told Medvedev he hopes to continue strengthening cooperation with Russia and to closely engage in diverse exchanges to achieve common goals, KCNA said.
Vietnam and North Korea also signed agreements of cooperation in various fields including between their defense, foreign and health ministries, KCNA said without elaborating.
North Korea holds military parade, shows off new intercontinental missile
https://arab.news/8d2sy
North Korea holds military parade, shows off new intercontinental missile
- Kim Jong Un oversees parade with new Hwasong-20 ICBM
- Foreign dignitaries from China, Russia, Vietnam in attendance
Greek coast guard search for 15 after migrant boat found adrift
- The two survivors reported that the vessel had become unstable due to bad weather and there was no means of getting shelter, food or water
ATHENS: Greek coast guard were on Monday searching for 15 people who fell into the water from a migrant boat that was found drifting off the coast of Crete with 17 bodies on board.
The 17 fatalities, all of them men, were discovered on Saturday on the craft, which was taking on water and partially deflated, some 26 nautical miles (48 kilometers) southwest of the island.
Post-mortem examinations were being carried out to determine how they died but Greek public television channel ERT suggested they may have suffered from hypothermia or dehydration.
A Greek coast guard spokeswoman told AFP that two survivors reported that “15 people fell in the water” after the motor cut out on Thursday, then the vessel drifted for two days.
At the time, Crete and much of the rest of Greece was battered by heavy rain and storms.
The two survivors reported that the vessel had become unstable due to bad weather and there was no means of getting shelter, food or water.
The vessel had 34 people on board and had left the Libyan port of Tobruk on Wednesday, the Greek port authorities said. Most of those who died came from Sudan and Egypt.
It was initially spotted by a Turkish-flagged cargo ship on Saturday, triggering a search that included ships and aircraft from the Greek coast guard and the European Union border agency Frontex.
Migrants have been trying to reach Crete from Libya for the last year, as a way of entering the European Union. But the Mediterranean crossing is perilous.
In Brussels, the EU’s 27 members on Monday backed a significant tightening of immigration policy, including the concept of returning failed asylum-seekers to “return hubs” outside the bloc.
The UN refugee agency said more than 16,770 asylum seekers in the EU have arrived on Crete since the start of the year — more than any other island in the Aegean Sea.
Greece’s conservative government has also toughened its migration policy, suspending asylum claims for three months, particularly those coming to Crete from Libya.
