Politics

Pyongyang may have held military parade at dawn: Seoul

Seoul, Oct 10 (efe-epa).- North Korea appears to have held a military parade early Saturday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

“Signs have been detected that North Korea conducted a military parade at the Kim Il-sung square at dawn by mobilizing a large number of equipment and personnel,” the JCS said in a brief statement.

“South Korean and the US intelligence authorities have been analyzing (the event), including the possibility that it could be the main event, (not a rehearsal),” it added, local news agency Yonhap reported.

Military intelligence in Seoul and Washington were closely monitoring the preparations for the large-scale military parade, where it was believed the reclusive country could unveil new weapons from its nuclear and missile program.

Several sources told news website NK News that they heard the sound of aircraft flying over Pyongyang along with drones, heavy machinery and even firecrackers around midnight on Friday.

Meanwhile, North Korean state broadcaster KCTV made no mention of the parade in its morning schedule.

North Korea usually holds massive military events or parades during the ruling party’s quintennial or decennial anniversaries (after every five or ten years) when the final number of the year ends in five or zero.

It was expected to exhibit its latest advances in weaponry during this year’s celebrations to send a strong message to Washington at a time when denuclearization dialog between North Korea and the US as well as talks between Pyongyang and Seoul have been at a standstill since the failed summit in Hanoi between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in 2019.

At that summit, Washington deemed the North Korean disarmament offer insufficient and refused to lift sanctions on the country.

Although the regime has broadcast several parades live in the past, it has sometimes chosen not to do so with the apparent intention of not provoking Washington.

This happened on Feb. 8, the founding anniversary of the North Korean military, in 2018, when Pyongyang had just opened the door to dialog. EFE-EPA

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