[Comprehensive] North Korea Appears to Hold Military Parade... Military "Watching Closely"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been reported that North Korea held a military parade on the 14th to commemorate the 8th Workers' Party Congress.

According to government sources, North Korea began the parade around 6 to 7 p.m. at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, and it was reported to be ongoing as of 8 p.m. It is believed that Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, attended the parade and received reports on the parade.

A military official stated in response to questions about whether the parade was held, "Our military is also closely monitoring the situation."

Although many had predicted that a parade would be held as a commemorative event following the 8th Party Congress, no North Korean reports related to the main event have been released even two days after the congress concluded.

Previously, North Korea also held a nighttime parade involving intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) on the 75th anniversary of the Party's founding in October last year. The decision to hold a parade just three months later is seen as a political event aimed at rallying the people's spirits amid the overlapping challenges of COVID-19, economic crisis, natural disasters, and price instability.

However, the scale appears to have been reduced. While about 12,000 personnel were mobilized for last October's parade, this year approximately 9,000 were involved. It is understood that the parade was conducted on a scale just sufficient to demonstrate presence ahead of the inauguration of the Biden administration in the United States.

Since North Korea's Korean Central Television broadcast a recorded live feed on the day of last year's parade, it is expected that footage of the Party Congress parade may be released as early as the 15th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.