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North Korea may have organized a midnight military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, the Associated Press and Reuters reported, citing the South Korean military and media monitoring of what is happening in North Korea.
According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, the parade appears to have taken place on Thursday in Pyongyang. The online news agency NK News quoted several sources as saying the parade was due to begin at midnight on September 9, the country’s 73rd anniversary.
NK News reported that late in the evening, citizens were seen preparing for a parade in Pyongyang’s Kim Il-sung Square. The streets were closed, and around midnight and at 1 a.m. there were fireworks in downtown Pyongyang.
The South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted unnamed military sources as saying that “there are signals that the North has organized a military parade in Pyongyang after midnight.” “The South Korean military is analyzing these signals,” the sources said.
This time it may not be about weapons
North Korea has also organized military parades at night to present a new military arsenal, including ballistic missiles, Reuters recalls. Last October, at a military parade at dawn, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unveiled unprecedented intercontinental ballistic missiles. Then, for the first time in two years, North Korea’s long-range ballistic missiles were introduced. Another midnight military parade was organized in January, Reuters recalls.
It remains unclear what kind of weapons were presented at the parade on Thursday and whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took part in it, the AP notes. Talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles have reached a dead end in recent years. The administration of former US President Donald Trump has announced that it will use diplomacy to deny North Korea its nuclear program, but has shown no willingness to comply with Pyongyang’s demands for easing sanctions, Reuters reports.
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It is possible that the goal is not a demonstration of force, but a way to reassure citizens. BBC quotes correspondent with the words that the distributed photos in protective suits may be a sign that special forces have been created to combat COVID-19.
Pyongyang has not confirmed cases of the infection, but in practice has introduced measures to protect against it, and at the same time is affected by food shortages (which leader Kim Jong Un does not deny it) and economic problems due to the pandemic. The closure of the border with China, a leading trading partner and source of aid, has ruined exchanges with the country closest to the Kim regime. North Korea has even refused 3 million doses of Chinese vaccine.
Following the failure of the Trump-Kim Jong Un summit, the North Korean leader vowed to strengthen the country’s nuclear forces and has so far rejected proposals for talks by the administration of new US President Joe Biden, urging Washington to give up its “hostile” policy, points out the AP.
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