Reason North Korea to parade dozens of long-range missiles

North Korea is planning to show off dozens of long-range missiles at a February 8 parade, the day before the Winter Olympics is set to begin in South Korea, two diplomatic sources with deep knowledge of North Korea's intentions told CNN Wednesday.

The display of "hundreds" of missiles and rockets would be an attempt "to scare the hell out of the Americans," one of the sources said.

The parade is expected to include dozens of long-range Hwasong-15 missiles, which the North Koreans test-fired for the first time in late November, the sources said.

They also didn't rule out a missile test "in the near future" to send a strong message to American forces currently deployed in the region.

The news comes after US President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union speech, during which he criticized the Kim Jong Un regime's human rights abuses and "reckless pursuit" of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that could soon threaten the US homeland.
In his address, Trump highlighted personal stories of victims of the Kim regime, inviting as guests North Korean defector Ji Seong-ho and the parents of Otto Warmbier, who died shortly after returning from North Korea where he spent 17 months in captivity.

Chad O'Carroll, managing director of the Korea Risk Group in Seoul, said the planned military parade could undermine Washington's support of dialogue between the two Koreas.

"The ongoing US support for inter-Korean rapprochement already appears to be showing cracks and will likely be seriously tested in the event of a major DPRK ICBM parade on the eve of the Olympics," he said.

Foreign media will be banned from covering the upcoming military parade, the sources said.

This is a dramatic change from last year, when many global news organizations were invited to cover a military parade in April that saw Pyongyang unveil new long-range missiles. A diplomatic source said this was due to the sensitivity of the weapons that will be on display, and to avoid questions about the deploy ability of the missiles. By banning foreign press, North Korea controls all of the imagery the world sees.

North Korean state media in recent days has been increasing its anti-US rhetoric, warning of grave consequences if postponed joint military exercises resume after the Olympics.