Kim Jong-un visits troops with daughter on army’s 75th founding anniversary
Seoul, Feb 8 (EFE).- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited troops with his daughter to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army (KPA), state media reported Wednesday.
Kim visited the barracks, whose exact location was not disclosed, on Tuesday along with his daughter, believed to be Kim Ju-ae, and gave a speech at a banquet held on the occasion, the KCNA news agency said.
The North Korean leader described the army as the “the strongest troops in the world” although he made no mention of South Korea or the United States at a time of rising tensions on the peninsula.
Every Feb. 8, the North Korean regime commemorates the official establishment of the KPA.
It also celebrates the founding of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army (KPRA), the predecessor of the KPA, on Apr. 25, 1932, by Kim Il-sung, the current leader’s grandfather and founder of the country, to fight against Japanese forces, which colonized the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945.
The regime is expected to hold a military parade in Pyongyang on Wednesday to commemorate the anniversary.
Kim Jong-un reappeared in public on Monday after about 40 days to preside over a major meeting of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Workers’ Party of Korea, in which “the issue of constantly expanding and intensifying the operation and combat drills of the KPA” was discussed.
In 2022, Pyongyang carried out around 50 missile launches, mostly in response to joint military drills by Seoul and Washington, which has sparked a new spiral of tension on the peninsula. EFE
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