GETTY
There is currently no sign that North Korea will display any of its intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) during the country’s military parade next week, Reuters reported Friday.
Citing commercial satellite imagery taken on Aug. 22, Reuters reported that weapons seen at North Korea’s Mirim Parade Training Ground included tanks, self-propelled artillery, infantry carriers, anti-aircraft missiles and rocket launchers.
The parade will mark the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding. North Korea has long used parades to display the strength of its military, the outlet noted.
The parade is likely to mirror North Korea’s military parade, which was staged on Feb. 8, according to Reuters. The February parade, however, included ICBMs, which are believed to be able to reach the U.S.
Reuters reported North Korea could display other weapons in its Sept. 9 parade, including defense cruise missiles and several short-range ballistic missiles that were included in the February parade.
The parade will come shortly after President Trump asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to put off a high-level visit with North Korea. Pompeo was scheduled to make the trip last month as a follow-up on a framework agreement that Trump reached with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a summit in Singapore this summer.
Trump wrote in a tweet calling off the visit that he felt the U.S. was “not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
[Disclaimer]