SEOUL, South Korea — Columns of goose-stepping soldiers and artillery vehicles rolled through a main plaza in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, on Sunday, as the country celebrated the 70th anniversary of its founding with a large military parade notable for one conspicuous absence: its long-range ballistic missiles. The North’s intercontinental ballistic missiles, including its Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15, have been a main feature of its recent military parades, including one in February, and they have provoked President Trump to the extent that he has threatened military action. For weeks, outside analysts had been scrutinizing satellite imagery of North Korea’s preparations for Sunday’s festivities. If the North decided not to showcase its ICBMs, they said, it could be counted as a sign that North Korea was serious about its negotiations with Washington. During the two-hour parade, North Korea displayed conventional weaponry, such as tanks, artillery pieces and multiple-rocket launchers, but it neither rolled out its ICBMs nor made direct references to its growing nuclear weapons capabilities, as it often did in past parades.

Source: New York Times September 09, 2018 09:22 UTC