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 intercontinental-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.
The inter-Korean talks which led to the North’s decision to participate in the Winter Olympics had been hailed as a breakthrough that could ease escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. However, the process has not been smooth.
On Monday, North Korea said it canceled a joint cultural performance that was to be held in advance of the Olympics in response to unflattering coverage by South Korean media.
According to a statement from South Korea’s Unification Ministry, the North Koreans pulled out because “South Korean media continue to insult North Korea’s genuine measures regarding the PyeongChang Olympics and take issues with its domestic festival.”
The sources that spoke to CNN said that other planned events could be canceled.
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