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Despite COVID-19 Concerns, N. Korea Preps for Major Military Parade

William Gallo

   SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Regional defense analysts sayNorth Korea has
   apparently begun preparations for a major military parade expected next
   month,when they sayit may unveil a major new weapons system.

   Satellite imagery from August 31 shows thousands of troops in formation
   and hundreds of vehicles parked near the Mirim Parade Training Ground
   intheeasternpart of the capital,Pyongyang, where parade rehearsals are
   usually conducted.

   38 North, aUSthink tankwebsite that published the satellite imagery,
   says the parade training appears to have started later than usual,
   perhaps because of anti-pandemic measures or severe weather that has
   recently battered the North.

   North Korea has long been expected to hold a large military parade on
   October 10, the 75th anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.
   Such anniversaries are major events in the single-party,
   quasi-Stalinist dictatorship.

   New weapon?

   The anniversary is also an opportunity for North Korea to showcase a
   new weapon - perhaps a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile,
   according to some experts - just weeks ahead of the United States
   presidential election.

   "The military parade is likely to bring new solid fuel ICBM,"saidKim
   Dong-yub, a North Korea military specialist and professor at
   Seoul'sKyungnamUniversity. Others say the North may show off a new
   submarine-launched ballistic missile, or SLBM.

   Either technology adds an unpredictable new component to North Korea's
   arsenal. Solid-fuel missiles are more easily transportable and take
   less time to prepare for launch. SLBMs are also mobile and easier to
   hide.

   At the beginning of the year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he
   would soon show off a "new strategic weapon."

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