North Korea Unveils New Submarine-Launched Missile

North Korea has unveiled a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile, described by state media as "the world's most powerful weapon"

Several missiles were displayed in a parade under the supervision of leader Kim Jong-un, reports BBC quoting the state media.

The show of military strength comes days before the inauguration of Joe Biden as US president.

It also follows a rare political meeting where Kim decried the US as his country's "biggest enemy".

Images released by North Korean state media showed that at least four large black-and-white missiles were driven past flag-waving crowds.

Analysts noted that it was a previously unseen weapon. "New year, new Pukguksong," said North Korea expert Ankit Panda, using the North Korean name for their submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

Clad in a leather coat and fur hat, Kim is pictured smiling and waving as he watched the display in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, which also included infantry troops, artillery and tanks.

"The world's most powerful weapon, submarine-launch ballistic missile, entered the square one after another, powerfully demonstrating the might of the revolutionary armed forces," the official Korean Central News Agency said.

Thursday's event did not show North Korea's largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) unveiled at a much larger military parade in October. That colossal weapon is believed to be capable of delivering a nuclear warhead anywhere in the US, and its size surprised even seasoned analysts when it was on show last year.

The country's latest display of its arsenal comes at the end of a five-yearly congress of the ruling Workers' Party.

In his address to members last week, Kim had pledged to expand North Korea's nuclear weapons and military potential, outlining a list of desired weapons including long-range ballistic missiles capable of being launched from land or sea and "super-large warheads".

He also said that the US was Pyongyang's "biggest obstacle for our revolution and our biggest enemy... no matter who is in power, the true nature of its policy against North Korea will never change".

Under Kim's leadership, North Korea has made rapid progress in its weapons programme, which it says is necessary to defend itself against a possible US invasion.

The unveiling of the new missiles appears designed to send the incoming Biden administration a message of the North's growing military prowess, say experts.

"They'd like us to notice that they're getting more proficient with larger solid rocket boosters," Panda tweeted, noting what appeared to be new solid-fuel short-range ballistic missiles on display too. These missiles can be launched more quickly than liquid-fuelled varieties.

Over the last four years, under President Donald Trump's administration, Pyongyang has had an erratic relationship with the US. Kim and Trump engaged in mutual insults and threats of war in the run-up to Singapore's unprecedented 2018 summit and the declaration of love by the outgoing US leader.

Despite the apparent warming of relations, little concrete progress has been made in the negotiations on North Korea's nuclear program, and the second summit in Hanoi collapsed in 2019, after the US rejected Pyongyang's call for sanctions relief.