N. Korea flexes military muscle on key day
Source: AFP |
July 28, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NORTH Korea staged an intimidating parade of military muscle and patriotic fervor yesterday, aimed at rallying support around leader Kim Jong-Un on the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War.
For two hours, wave after wave of goose-stepping soldiers, followed by batteries of tanks and longer-range missiles on giant mobile launchers, marched through Kim Il-Sung Square in a highly orchestrated display of national solidarity and defiance.
Kim Jong-Un, flanked by top military officials and Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao - the most senior Beijing official to visit Pyongyang since Kim came to power - took the salute from the review podium overlooking Pyongyang's giant square, which was turned into a sea of color by hundreds of thousands of men and women waving flags and red, pink, white and blue flowers.
Kim's arrival at the parade ground at 10am was greeted with fireworks, the release of thousands of colored balloons and hysterical cheers from the crowds.
As the soldiers marched and the tanks rolled past, fighter jets screeched overhead and pairs of helicopters made low-altitude passes over the parade.
Missiles on display included mid-range Musudans as well as what appeared to be a long-range KN-08 - a little known model first unveiled at the last major parade in Pyongyang in April last year.
Analysts said after the April event that the missile was actually a mock-up.
The cease-fire in the 1950-53 Korean War is celebrated in North Korea as "Victory Day" over United States and United Nations-led forces, even though the conflict ended in a territorial stalemate.
The massive parade capped a week of celebratory events that has repeatedly stressed the need for young North Koreans to emulate the sacrifice of the war veterans.
In the keynote speech at the parade, Kim's top military aide Choe Ryong-Hae, said North Korea had defeated the US through "superiority of spirit," which the new generation should embody.
For all the military muscle being flexed in the parade ground, Choe stressed the need for a "peaceful environment" on the Korean Peninsula.
The parade followed a recent surge in military tensions on the peninsula triggered by the North's third nuclear test in February.
Kim Jong-Un, wearing his signature dark Mao suit, had been expected to use the anniversary to make a televised address. But Choe's was the only speech, and Kim's participation was restricted to waving from the podium.
In South Korea, meanwhile, the armistice anniversary was marked in a far more muted fashion.
In Seoul, President Park Geun-Hye urged the North to give up its nuclear ambitions and embrace change and peace.
For two hours, wave after wave of goose-stepping soldiers, followed by batteries of tanks and longer-range missiles on giant mobile launchers, marched through Kim Il-Sung Square in a highly orchestrated display of national solidarity and defiance.
Kim Jong-Un, flanked by top military officials and Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao - the most senior Beijing official to visit Pyongyang since Kim came to power - took the salute from the review podium overlooking Pyongyang's giant square, which was turned into a sea of color by hundreds of thousands of men and women waving flags and red, pink, white and blue flowers.
Kim's arrival at the parade ground at 10am was greeted with fireworks, the release of thousands of colored balloons and hysterical cheers from the crowds.
As the soldiers marched and the tanks rolled past, fighter jets screeched overhead and pairs of helicopters made low-altitude passes over the parade.
Missiles on display included mid-range Musudans as well as what appeared to be a long-range KN-08 - a little known model first unveiled at the last major parade in Pyongyang in April last year.
Analysts said after the April event that the missile was actually a mock-up.
The cease-fire in the 1950-53 Korean War is celebrated in North Korea as "Victory Day" over United States and United Nations-led forces, even though the conflict ended in a territorial stalemate.
The massive parade capped a week of celebratory events that has repeatedly stressed the need for young North Koreans to emulate the sacrifice of the war veterans.
In the keynote speech at the parade, Kim's top military aide Choe Ryong-Hae, said North Korea had defeated the US through "superiority of spirit," which the new generation should embody.
For all the military muscle being flexed in the parade ground, Choe stressed the need for a "peaceful environment" on the Korean Peninsula.
The parade followed a recent surge in military tensions on the peninsula triggered by the North's third nuclear test in February.
Kim Jong-Un, wearing his signature dark Mao suit, had been expected to use the anniversary to make a televised address. But Choe's was the only speech, and Kim's participation was restricted to waving from the podium.
In South Korea, meanwhile, the armistice anniversary was marked in a far more muted fashion.
In Seoul, President Park Geun-Hye urged the North to give up its nuclear ambitions and embrace change and peace.
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