North Korea wants to scare the US with a huge military parade

North Korea is reportedly preparing missiles and rockets by the hundreds to parade around Pyongyang the day before the South Korean Winter Olympics kicks off in an attempt "to scare the hell out of the Americans."

"Hundreds of missiles and rockets" will be on display, according to CNN's Will Ripley. Ripley reports this will include "many dozens" of Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missiles, the type North Korea most recently tested that experts assess could hit the entire continental US with a large nuclear warhead.

South Korean media reports that launchers that stretch 250 meters and 50 meters have already been spotted at Mirim Airport in Pyongyang.

Rows of TELs that stretch 250 meters and 50 meters seem to have already been assembled at Mirim Airport in Pyongyang, south of Taedong. https://t.co/9260M7HnSB pic.twitter.com/AJKr6Hr58F

— Noon in Korea (@NoonInKorea) January 31, 2018

Ripley, who frequently travels to North Korea, cited diplomatic sources "with deep knowledge of North Korea's intentions" as saying they would show off the missiles to "scare the hell out of" US citizens as the two countries' leaders exchange nuclear threats.

But as is often the case with North Korea, the bark may be worse than the bite. Ripley notes that foreign media has been banned from the parade, meaning only North Korean imagery will come out of the event.

Also read: What happens next in the North Korea missile situation

This gives North Korea ample opportunity to doctor the images, as they often do. North Korea's dozens of ICBMs may be faked, made of different materials, and almost certainly not coupled with actual nuclear warheads.

North Korea has made considerable efforts to capitalize on the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics as a propaganda coup, going as far as to rewrite their own history as the pretense for moving its usual military parade from April to February, when Pyongyang is bitterly cold.

Related: A failed North Korean missile crashed in its own city this year

Ripley reports that North Korea may conduct additional missile tests in the near future. If they do, the country runs a higher-than-ever-before risk of incurring the US's military wrath, as talk of strikes on North Korea has reportedly reached a fever pitch in Trump's inner circle.