North Korea parades military might, accuses Trump of 'creating a war situation'

North Korea on Saturday celebrated the birthday of the regime's founding president, Kim Il Sung, with a massive parade in Pyongyang flaunting its intercontinental and submarine-based ballistic missiles, along with tanks, planes, and other equipment.

The annual display appears to be scheduled in lieu of a rumored nuclear weapons test; unnamed senior U.S. officials reportedly told NBC News the U.S. is prepared to respond to such a test with a preemptive attack, a story "multiple senior defense officials" later categorically denied to Fox News. Last weekend, a U.S. Navy carrier strike group moved toward North Korea in what was understood as a show of force.

Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae, considered North Korea's second-in-command, accused President Trump of "creating a war situation" while speaking at Saturday's parade, pledging Pyongyang "will respond to an all-out war with an all-out war and a nuclear war with our style of a nuclear attack."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up