North Korea Preparing Large-Scale Military Parade... Will New Weapons Be Unveiled?

Up to 13,500 People Gather at Pyongyang Mirim Airfield

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] North Korea is believed to be preparing for a large-scale military parade. It has been identified that a large number of personnel have gathered at the parade training ground north of Mirim Airfield in Pyongyang, North Korea. It is unusual for such a large crowd to gather at the early stage of training.

On the 3rd, the Voice of America (VOA) reported that an analysis of satellite images taken on the 2nd by the civilian satellite photo service 'Planet Labs' estimated that the troops gathered at the parade training ground numbered up to about 13,500. Since about 12,000 troops were spotted in images from the 20th of last month, even after ten days, more personnel are still maintained than at that time. There is also evidence that the number of troop transport vehicles parked in the area has increased.

Military authorities are observing that preparations for the parade have begun ahead of either the birthday of Chairman Kim Jong-un on the 8th of this month or the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army (Gun-gun-jeol) on February 8 next year. Since North Korea has increased the deployment of troops and military vehicles as the parade date approaches, it appears that the parade is imminent.

North Korea usually prepares for military parades about two months in advance. Around two months before the April 25 parade last year commemorating the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army (Anti-Japanese Guerrilla), fewer than ten preparation formations were spotted. At that time, North Korea unveiled a large number of strategic weapons, including the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) 'Hwasong-17', the hypersonic missile 'Hwasong-8', a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) presumed to use solid fuel, and new tactical guided weapons.

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