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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has spoken at a rare morning military parade on Saturday, marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the country’s ruling Workers’ Party.
The event took place before sunrise in the secret country, and was closely observed in the region.
North Korea apparently used the parade to showcase a new ICBM, after analysts worried that the country might reveal new weapons.
People bow to statues of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill
North Korean state media later broadcast the parade, despite prior secrecy about it.
Speaking at the event, Kim Jong Un told North Koreans that the country would surpass the COVID-19 crisis, and that the peoples of North and South Korea will unite again.
Kim added that no one in the country contracted the disease, but this has been repeatedly refuted by South Korea and the United States.
He also thanked the military for helping the country recover after a series of storms over the summer and hoped the parade would showcase North Korea’s military might, but that it did not target any particular country.
North Korea held a military parade early in the morning on Saturday. Stock Image
In addition to the parade, the anniversary is celebrated with concerts and festivals over several days.
Joint chiefs of staff in South Korea had previously said that they noticed signs that North Korea was holding a military parade in its capital, Pyongyang, but did not initially provide further details.
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They said: “There was a sign that North Korea held a military parade this morning in Kim Il Sung Square, mobilizing equipment and personnel on a large scale.
“The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are closely monitoring developments, including the possibility of it being the main event.”
During the week, South Korean officials said Kim may have used the anniversary as a “low intensity” show of power ahead of the US elections.
Satellite images had shown thousands of soldiers in North Korea practicing their march, raising concerns that the country could be on the verge of unveiling a new intercontinental missile.
Foreign ambassadors to Pyongyang are often invited to the celebrations, but the Russian embassy said on social media that it had been advised not to travel to the city and to refrain from taking photos and videos there.
