While rumors circulated late last Spring that he might be dead, The Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, is very much alive and as usual, is revealing a long-range ballistic missile that has the potential to wipe out major cities in the United States.

As Un regained his health and started to reappear in the media, many rumors arose about a new missile that has the power to obliterate major cities in the United States such as New York or Washington, DC. 

According to  BBC, there have been speculations about Un revealing a ballistic missile ever since January of 2020 in which he stated that “his country would introduce ‘a new strategic weapon’.” 

According to the New York Post, Un had been planning on debuting a ballistic missile that is described as a “new type of inter-continental ballistic rocket weaponry system capable of carrying super-heavy nuclear warhead and attacking the whole mainland of the US.”

Many expressed skepticism toward this rumored weapon production, doubting that Un could actually live up to his claims and create an impressive range of military equipment in such poor health. 

 “In my opinion, I don’t really believe this news because he had said something like this in the past and it never happened. I think he is bluffing,” said Freshman Sabrina Sabeti.

Back in spring of 2020, there was buzz about his alleged death, since he had not appeared in the press for weeks and his sister, Kim Yo-jong, temporarily took over the role of Supreme Leader in his absence. 

Since North Korea regulates free press, it is still unknown what happened to Un during those few weeks, but he has since reappeared in the public and seems to be back in normal shape.

Un’s time-off clearly did not interfere with his armament plans as he proved all the speculation correct this Saturday, presenting the ‘nation’s’ new line of missiles in the military parade. The parade was hosted in light of the 75th anniversary of the Workers Party of North Korea.

The never-before-seen military equipment that was unveiled over the weekend ranged from small arms and chemical warfare masks to submarine ballistic missiles. However, the star of the show was an untested ICBM, one of the largest liquid-fueled, road-mobile ballistic missiles ever made.

The presentation of this ‘monster’ missile has sparked a lot of controversy and concern, being depicted as a worldwide threat, and more specifically, a direct challenge to U.S. defenses.

“It is a bit scary. I honestly had no idea about this until now,” said Freshman Mary Puglisi.

“My opinion is that it will once again impact the media around the world. People will find it as a new subject to talk about besides COVID-19,” said Sophomore Yusuf Durmaz.

Students have also expressed that the United States should work to negotiate with North Korea’s leader in an attempt to ease the consequential tensions of this weaponry showcase. 

“In certain cases like this, Un and Trump can discuss the issue on him revealing more missiles and convince him on not using them,”  said Sophomore Max Cohen.