North Korea plans to roll out hundreds of ballistic missiles one day before the start of the Winter Olympics. Pyongyang announced it will hold a parade on February 8, the day before the Winter Olympics, CNN writes.
Under the parade, several Hwasong-15 ballistic missiles, which are believed to have been used in the latest nuclear tests conducted in November, would scramble among the curious.
A source told CNN that demonstrating North Korean forces is a direct message to Americans who want to intimidate them. "They want to scare Americans like hell," said the same source for CNN.
The information was released a few hours after US President Donald Trump held the most important speech in his career after congratulating Congress. US President Donald Trump addressed a nationwide speech on the state of affairs one year after taking office, where he spoke of the need for the US to "modernize and rebuild" the nuclear arsenal.
During the speech, Donald Trump vehemently criticized North Korea's actions, referring to the oppression of the regime on its own population.
"But no regime oppressed citizens more and more brutally than the ruthless dictatorship in North Korea. North Korea's irrational goal of developing its nuclear program could soon become a threat to our internal security. We are campaigning to prevent such a thing from happening, "the White House leader added.
In his speech, the American leader also remembered the young Otto Warmbier, who was jailed for 17 months in North Korea after he stole the North Korean flag from a hotel. He was released for medical reasons in June, arrived home seriously ill in a coma, and died a few days later. Pyongyang has always denied having badly treated Warmbier. North Koreans claim that the young man suffered from botulism while in prison, but American doctors found no trace of the disease.
"Otto Warmbier was a conscientious student at Virginia University. What a great student he was! When he was in Asia where he was going to study, he decided to make a visit to North Korea. As a result, this wonderful young man was arrested and charged with crimes against the state. After a shameful trial, he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor before returning to America in June last year, seriously injured and near death. He died just a few days after he got home. His parents Fred and Cindy are here with us, along with his brother and sister, Austin and Greta. Tonight, we pay homage to Otto, "Trump said.
South Korea and North Korea agreed to participate with a joint ice hockey team at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang and also to attend the official opening ceremony of the Olympic event.
In addition, Pyongyang accused the Trump Administration of pretending the Winter Olympics to deploy military forces in the Peninsula and urged the United States to permanently suspend military operations with South Korea.
"It is a dangerous action that jeopardizes the positive atmosphere of intercore relations. This action could lead again to an extreme stage of confrontation, "Han Tae Song said at a UN conference in Geneva.