At a massive military parade attended by foreign leaders, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rolled out his nuclear-armed military’s most powerful weapons, including a new intercontinental ballistic missile he may be preparing to test in coming weeks.

The parade, which began in the rain on Friday night (Saturday AEDT) at Pyongyang’s main square and marked the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party, highlighted Kim’s growing diplomatic footing and his relentless drive to build an arsenal that could target the continental United States and his rivals in Asia.

North Korean state media said on Saturday that the parade featured a new, yet-to-be-tested ICBM called the Hwasong-20, which it described as the country’s “most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system.”

Joined by high-level Chinese, Vietnamese and Russian officials at a podium, Kim said in a speech that his military “should continue to grow into an invincible entity that destroys all threats,” but made no direct mention of the United States or South Korea.

He also praised the thousands of North Korean soldiers he sent to Russia to join its war against Ukraine, saying they displayed “heroic fighting spirit” and “ideological and spiritual perfection” in a battle for “international justice and genuine peace.”

Edited footage from North Korean state television showed what appeared to be tens of thousands of spectators packed into the brightly lit square, cheering and waving the national flag as columns of goose-stepping soldiers and missile-mounted vehicles rolled through the rain-soaked streets.

The soldiers included troops Kim had sent to Russia, who marched under North Korean and Russian flags as state media hailed them as “invincible” warriors.

The Hwasong-20 is the latest addition to Kim’s growing list of ICBMs

North Korea in recent years has flight-tested a variety of ICBMs that could potentially reach the US mainland, including missiles with built-in solid propellants that are easier to move and conceal and can be prepared for launch more quickly than the North’s previous liquid-fuelled missiles.

The parade saw the debut of the massive Hwasong-20, with at least three of them wheeled out on 11-axle launcher trucks.

The new missile’s existence was first revealed in recent weeks as North Korea tested a new solid-fuel rocket engine that it said was intended for future ICBMs. State media said the engine, built with carbon fiber, is more powerful than past models.

Kim has called for the development of multi-warhead systems that would improve the chances of penetrating missile defences, and some experts say the Hwasong-20 could be designed for that purpose.

Other weapons on display included shorter-range ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles, which the North previously described as capable of delivering nuclear strikes against targets in South Korea. The parade also featured Kim’s newest tanks, artillery systems and drones, which have been a key focus of his efforts to expand his conventional military capabilities after he spent much of his early rule concentrating on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

High-level visitors highlight Kim’s growing diplomatic reach

Kim this week hosted a rare group of high-level foreign officials sent to Pyongyang to attend the anniversary celebrations, including Chinese Premier Li Qiang, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of Moscow’s Security Council, and Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam.

During the parade, Kim took the central spot at the podium, flanked by Li to his right and Lam to his left, while Medvedev stood next to Lam.

The high-level visits highlight Kim’s increasingly assertive foreign policy as he seeks to break out of isolation and establish a larger role for North Korea in a united front against the US-led West.

North Korea has shunned any form of talks with Washington and Seoul since Kim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Donald Trump fell apart in 2019 during the American president’s first term. In a recent speech, Kim urged Washington to drop its demand for the North to surrender its nukes as a precondition for resuming diplomacy.

Kim also visited China last month and shared centre stage with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a massive military parade.

Kim on Friday separately met with Medvedev to discuss developing the “comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance” with Russia, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

Medvedev praised the “bravery and self-sacrificing spirit” of North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region, and called for expanded exchanges and cooperation between the two governments. Kim had also met Li and Lam on Thursday for talks on strengthening ties.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kim has made Russia the priority of his foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and large shipments of weapons, including artillery and ballistic missiles, to help fuel Putin’s war.