Closing Labor Party Congress, North Korea Shows Off New Ballistic Missiles

North Korea's new ballistic missile. (Source: North Korea Central News Agency - KCNA).

JAKARTA - North Korea closed the week-long Labor Party Congress with a show of military force. In a parade held Thursday evening local time, the South Korean military showed off a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

Not only that, the parade also featured various North Korean military weaponry, including tanks, rocket launchers, and new variants of short-range ballistic missiles.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un witnessed the military parade held at Kim Il-sung Square, Pyongyang.

"The most powerful weapon in the world, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, entered the plaza one after another, strongly demonstrating the strength of the revolutionary armed forces," the KCNA news agency reported.

North Korean military parade. (Source: North Korea Central News Agency - KCNA).

Photos released by state media show the SLBM being labeled Pukguksong-5, potentially marking an upgrade over the Pukguksong-4 which was unveiled at a larger military parade last October.

However, on this occasion North Korea's largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which is said to be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and reaching the United States, is not shown like the previous military parade.

North Korean military parade. (Source: North Korea Central News Agency - KCNA).

"The new missile definitely looks longer," Michael Duitsman, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Professor at Ewha University, Seoul, South Korea Leif-Eric Easley believes this parade is not to provoke, because North Korea is also experiencing economic problems.

"This is not a provocation, but a worrying sign from Pyongyang. The economy is affected by the pandemic, closing borders, mismanagement of policies to international sanctions.