As goose-stepping soldiers, cavalry and nuclear-tipped missiles flowed through Kim Il Sung Square on Monday night, North Korea marked the 90th anniversary of the Korean People’s Army with extraordinary fanfare. 

The event marked the tenth military parade since Kim Jong Un took power in 2011. On display was the country’s largest-known intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), an array of hypersonic gliding missiles and possibly a new solid fuel missile, the “Pukguksong-6.” In a speech before the main event, Kim said his country’s nuclear forces — a “symbol of national strength” and “core” of North Korea’s military might — are for more than just preventing war.