Sep 9 – North Korea held a paramilitary parade in Pyongyang on Saturday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the regime’s creation, according to official media.
According to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim watched the military parade that took place “with splendour” at Kim Il Sung Square to commemorate the country’s founding day.
Kim did not give a speech at the ceremony, which was also attended by his daughter, Ju-ae, according to Yonhap News Agency.
A Chinese team led by Vice Premier Liu Guozhong was also there, as were visiting members of a Russian army song and dance ensemble, according to the KCNA story.
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This time, Russia did not send a separate delegation.
The nighttime parade is North Korea’s third this year, with the most recent one taking place in July to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the signing of the 1950-53 Korean War armistice.
The procession occurred amid rumours that Kim may visit Vladivostok next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a prospective arms agreement.
A report of his planned visit to Russia has sparked suspicion that North Korea may offer Russia with artillery shells and other weaponry for use in Moscow’s war with Ukraine in exchange for a weapons-related technology transfer from Russia, such as a surveillance satellite and a nuclear-powered submarine.
According to the KCNA, the latest paramilitary parade featured columns of motorbikes with great mobility and anti-tank missile launchers carried by tractors.
The North did not appear to show off its intercontinental ballistic missiles or other strategic weaponry.
The demonstration was largely conducted by the Worker-Peasant Red Guards, a northern civilian defensive organisation comprised of approximately 5.7 million workers and farmers.
According to the North’s state-run Korean Central Broadcasting Station, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping offered congratulations greetings to Kim on the occasion of the important milestone.
