SEOUL (Dispatches) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday called on the country’s military to “bolster up their strength in every way to annihilate the enemy”, state media reported.
Kim made the remarks during photo sessions with troops, state media broadcasters, and others involved in a massive military parade staged on Monday, which marked the 90th anniversary of the army’s founding.
Photos released by state media showed Kim perched on a white horse and wearing a white, military-style tunic with gold trim as he reviewed the troops.
Monday’s parade had featured several of the North’s latest missiles, including its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-17, and a recently tested hypersonic missile.
The display demonstrated the “modernity, heroism and radical development of the armed forces of the Republic and their matchless military and technological superiority,” Kim told troops at the photo session, state news agency KCNA reported.
North Korea says it opposes war and that its weapons are for self-defense, but at Monday’s parade Kim said the mission of its nuclear force goes beyond deterring war to also include defending the nation’s “fundamental interests.”