N. Korean soldiers parade in massive anniversary celebration

A cavalcade of tanks, armored vehicles and assorted ballistic hardware moved through the city’s Kim Il-Sung Square, along with thousands of marching troops, in an attempt to show off the nuclear nation’s military strength.

In a rare speech at the Saturday parade, Kim did not mention the country’s nuclear and missile capabilities, although he said North Korea is ready to respond to “any kind of war” waged by the United States.

“The Chinese side is willing to seek closer communication and deepen cooperation, pushing for a long-term, healthy and stable development of the Sino-DPRK ties”, Xi said in the letter cited by Xinhua, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

A soldier stands at a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, Saturday, …

The unusually public celebrations have been seen as an attempt by supreme leader Kim Jung-Un to reinforce his country’s military potential.

North Korean soldiers parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, Saturday, October 10, 2015.

Buildings surrounding the plaza, named after Kim’s grandfather, the founding leader of North Korea, were festooned with red hammer-and-sickle party flags and the national colours of blue, white and red.

Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch said: “The grim reality is the North Korea state, its agencies and its state enterprises employ an economic strategy based on systematically grabbing the benefits of forcing people to work for prolonged periods without remuneration, often in arduous or highly unsafe conditions”.

North Korea has not conducted a nuclear test since its third in early 2013, leading to speculation over when the next test could come.

The spectacle promised to be the most elaborate since Mr. Kim assumed power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Illinois, in late 2011, and the satellite imagery suggests the military parade could be the country’s biggest ever.

The six-party talks, involving South Korea, North Korea, the USA, China, Russian Federation and Japan, have been stalled since late 2008.

[There’s no party like a Kim Jong Un party – it’s the only party].

Live TV footage showed Kim smiling several times when he spoke with Liu through an interpreter during the military parade.

A Chinese delegation led by Liu Yunshan, who is one of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, met Kim and delivered a message from President Xi Jinping, according to North Korean state media KCNA.

His heirs, son Kim Jong Illinois and grandson Kim Jong Un, have held the central role in the party, although their official titles have all differed.

However, China’s Xinhua news agency reported that Liu had urged Kim to return to global talks on limiting its nuclear programme which Pyongyang broke off years ago.

The huge celebration this year is seen by analysts as a sign that Kim is trying to build up his own stature along with that of the party relative to the military.