North Korea Holiday Celebrated With Nightly Military Parade

In the night from Wednesday to Thursday, a national holiday was kicked off in North Korea with a large military parade.

At midnight (local time), the parade, which saw thousands of military personnel participate, marks the 73rd anniversary of North Korea’s official founding.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the parade but did not speak. The country has frequently used military parades in recent times to showcase new weapons to the world. For example, during the last parade, in January this year, a new ballistic missile that could be fired from a submarine was displayed. However, no special disclosures were made this time.

“The parade this time seemed largely set up for North Korean audiences, not intended to send diplomatic messages to Seoul or Washington,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul University and former adviser to the South Korean government.

According to the North Korean news agency KCNA, the parade showed that North Korea is an “impregnable fortress with a powerful militia and an invincible army”. South Korean authorities said they were “closely” monitoring the parade.