Arts & Entertainment

North Korea confirms holding of midnight military parade

Seoul, Sep 9 (EFE).- North Korean state media confirmed Thursday a midnight military parade was held in Pyongyang to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of its founding, although no missiles were apparently exhibited during the event.

The parade, seemingly smaller in scale than on other occasions, was attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, although he did not make an address, according to state news agency KCNA and the newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

As usual, Kim presided over the event from a balcony at the western end of Kim Il-sung Square, where he was flanked by the other four members of the single-party politburo presidium, including Pak Jong-chon, who was recently appointed a member of this powerful body.

Neither KCNA nor Rodong showed photos of missiles or made mention of this type of weapon in their reports.

North Korea, which celebrates its Day of the Foundation of the Republic on Thursday, has chosen military parades in the capital on many occasions to introduce new ballistic missiles.

However, some analysts considered it unlikely that on this occasion the regime would display heavy weapons given the short duration of the parade (barely one hour) and after satellite images did not warn of the presence of large military vehicles during rehearsals for the celebration.

Hours before the North Korean media reported the event, Seoul’s military intelligence detected activity indicating that the military parade started in Pyongyang after midnight local time (15:00 GMT Wednesday).

“The specific details (of the parade) are being analyzed in close cooperation between the South Korea and US intelligence authorities,” a spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff told Efe.

The parade comes as Pyongyang appears to have reactivated nuclear facilities, while the denuclearization dialogue with the US has remained stalled since 2019. EFE

asb/tw

Related Articles

Back to top button