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SEOUL: North Korea on Saturday celebrated the 75th anniversary of its ruling party with outside observers expecting leader Kim Jong Un to take center stage in a massive military parade in capital Pyongyang, where the North could possibly unveil the latest weapons in its growing nuclear force threatening US allies and the American mainland.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether any events were proceeding or had already taken place.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said there were signs that the North had already mobilized “large crowds and equipment” for a military parade at Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square during the early hours of Saturday, but the activities also could have been a rehearsal.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the US and South Korean militaries were closely analyzing information about the parade and considering the possibility that it could have been the main event.
A programming schedule announced by North Korean television didn’t include plans to broadcast a military parade and mass rally, which South Korean government officials and private analysts had said were being prepared.
While North Korean TV had provided live coverage of a 2017 military parade honoring the birth of Kim’s late grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung, the next two military parades in 2018 were recorded and broadcast later.
Masked citizens lined up to lay flowers at the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the father of the current ruler, at Pyongyang’s Mansu Hill. A huge street poster highlighted the ruling Workers’ Party’s symbol — a hammer, brush and sickle — with letters that read “Best glory to our great party.”
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday that residents in Kaesong and other regions who had lost their homes to recent natural disasters marked the party anniversary by moving into newly built houses and that they praised Kim Jong Un for looking after them as “their father.”
This year’s anniversary comes amid deadlocked nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration and deepening economic woes, which analysts say are shaping up as one of the biggest tests of Kim’s leadership since he took power in 2011.
South Korean officials and analysts have said North Korea could showcase a new intercontinental ballistic missile or other nuclear-capable weapons during a parade, which would highlight how the country has continued to expand its military capabilities amid stalled nuclear talks.
Kim Song, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations, told a UN committee that his country will “not pause even a moment on the road of building up most powerful defense capabilities which no one would dare to challenge” in face of threats by “hostile forces.” He criticized South Korea for continuing its joint military exercises with the United States, which the North describe as invasion rehearsals, although the allies say the trainings are defensive in nature.
Authoritarian North Korea is keen about anniversaries, especially ones that fall on every fifth or 10th year, and this week’s festivities were earmarked for years in advance as a major event to glorify Kim Jong Un’s achievements as leader.