The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter attended a paramilitary parade held in Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang to mark the 75th anniversary of the country, state media reported on Saturday.
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), was established on September 9, 1948.
To mark the founding day, rocket launchers towed by trucks and tractors traversed the square in the capital that bears the name of the founder of North Korea, while planes lined up in the sky to depict the number “75” to the strains of music played by a military orchestra, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
A solemn ceremony of raising the national flag of the DPRK took place, and columns of the Workers and Peasants' Red Militia also marched across the square. At the end of the parade, there was a fireworks display.
Coming as North Korea is set on enhancing ties with Moscow and Beijing, diplomats from both countries stationed in Pyongyang had been invited to attend the celebrations. A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu Guozhong, as well as the Russian Army Academic Song and Dance Ensemble named after Alexandrov, which is visiting the DPRK, were also in attendance.
The North Korean leader was sent congratulatory messages timed to the occasion of Founding Day from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping, according to KCNA.
Vladimir Putin underscored that relations between the two countries have “invariably developed on the principle of friendship, good neighborliness and mutual respect.”
“This fully conforms with the interests of the peoples of our two countries and will contribute to ensuring security and stability in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia,” Putin wrote in the letter.
Meanwhile, China’s Xi Jinping, according to KCNA, emphasized that his country was “ready to strengthen the strategic communication, deepen the working-level cooperation and promote the China-DPRK relations” with Pyongyang.
Kim Jong-un is described as having met with the Chinese delegation for talks conducted in a "friendly" atmosphere, with the sides agreeing on the need for "developing the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries and further intensifying the multi-faceted coordination and cooperation," according to the KCNA.
The latest midnight parade took place in North Korea in July, timed to the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the 1950-53 Korean War armistice. At the time, Kim Jong-un hosted a reception for a Chinese delegation, during which the parties agreed to further develop cooperation and "respond to the complicated international situation," the North's state-run news agency reported.
The delegation had been led by Chinese Communist Party politburo member Li Hongzhong. North Korea and China reaffirmed their stand to steadily develop the cooperation onto a new high stage through close strategic and tactical collaboration. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, while visiting Pyongyang to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to discuss issues of global and regional security, also attended the parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. Timed to the occasion, North Korean state television showed footage of the next generation battle tank being tested in combat exercises at a firing range and using an unspecified munition type from its main gun.
North Korea, that technically remains at war with South Korea and the US in the absence of a peace treaty ending the hostilities that began in 1950, has been posturing itself as ready to defend the nation at any time. The country recently launched a new "tactical nuclear attack submarine," capable of launching an underwater nuclear attack to strengthen Pyongyang's nuclear deterrence. Citing state-run KCNA, South Korean reports indicated the launching ceremony for the submarine was attended by the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. State media reported on Friday that the North Korean leader inspected submarine No. 841 called "Hero Kim Kun Ok" on Thursday to get acquainted with its weapon system and underwater operation capability.
Pyongyang has also repeatedly conducted missile tests in response to what North Korea describes as provocative war games carried out by Japan, South Korea, and the US.