Russian and Chinese delegates join North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a parade showing his newest missiles

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was joined by senior Russian and Chinese delegates as he displayed his most powerful nuclearcapable missiles in a military parade marking a major war anniversary with a show of defiance against the United States and deepening ties with Moscow as tensions on the peninsula are at their highest point in yearsKim attended Thursday nights parade with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese ruling party official Li Hongzhong from a balcony looking over a brightly illuminated Kim Il Sung Square named after Kims grandfather the founder of North KoreaEdited footage from North Korean state TV on Friday showed streets and stands packed with tens of thousands of mobilized spectators who roared in approval as waves of goosestepping soldiers tanks and huge intercontinental ballistic missiles wheeled out on launcher trucks filled up the main road People were brought from around the country to the capital Pyongyang to fill the crowd according to state mediaThe parade began with warmup events that featured ceremonial flights of newly developed surveillance and attack drones which were first unveiled by state media this week as they reported on an arms exhibition attended by Kim and ShoiguThe main event began with Kim arriving at the square in a limousine escorted by a formation of motorcycles Kim saluted honor guards and military officials and walked down a red carpet to enter a building where Shoigu and Li greeted him at the balcony as troops below chanted protect Kim Jong Un with our livesOrganizers broadcast messages in Russian Chinese and Korean while introducing Kims guests to the crowd drawing cheers and applauseAs the parade proceeded Kim was constantly talking and exchanging smiles with Shoigu and Li who respectively stood to his right and left at the balconys center Kim and Shoigu repeatedly raised their hands to salute the parading troops The broadcast did not show Kim making a speechKims biggest weapons were saved for the end when his troops rolled out new ICBMs that were flighttested in recent months and demonstrated ranges that could reach deep into the US mainland the Hwasong17 and Hwasong18 Some analysts say the missiles are based on Russian designs or knowhowNorth Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam spoke describing the parade as a historic celebration of the countrys great victory against US imperialist aggression forces and groups of its satellite statesHe condemned the United States for its expanding military exercises with South Korea which the North portrays as invasion rehearsals and also holding new rounds of nuclear contingency planning meetings with Seoul The allies describe their drills as defensive and say the upgrades in training and planning are necessary to cope with the Norths evolving nuclear threatWe solemnly declare that if they attempt military confrontation as now the exercise of our states armed forces will go beyond the scope of the right to defense for the United States of America and South Korea Kang said repeating previous North Korean threats of nuclear conflictThe US imperialists have no room of choice of survival in case they use nuclear weapons against the DPRK he said using the initials of his countrys formal name the Democratic Peoples Republic of KoreaClouds over Pyongyang in recent days made it difficult for satellites to monitor preparations for the parade which took place at nightSatellite images showed what appeared to be a massing of people at the square at 1316 GMT 1016 pm local Thursday said Dave Schmerler a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies which is part of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at MontereyNorth Koreas invitation of Russian and Chinese delegates was a rare diplomatic opening since the start of the COVID19 pandemic Experts say Kim is trying to break out of diplomatic isolation and boost the visibility of his partnership with authoritarian allies to counter pressure from the United StatesThe parade followed meetings between Kim and Shoigu this week that demonstrated North Koreas support for Russias invasion of Ukraine and added to suspicions the North was willing to supply arms to Russia whose war efforts have been compromised by defense procurement and inventory problemsNorth Korean state media also highlighted a message sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin who thanked Kim for firmly supporting his war efforts in Ukraine Putin said that interests between Moscow and Pyongyang were aligning as they counter the collective West in its policy to stand in the way of establishing a genuinely multipolar and just world order according to the Kremlins version of the letterThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without 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