North Korea: Footage of military celebrations for 70th anniversary

The latest on the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the creation of North Korea’s ruling party (all times local).

“It is a message to the world…but also it’s intended for a domestic audience, it reinforces Kim Jong Un’s military credentials”.

North Korea has also said its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon have resumed operations, raising fears of a possible fourth nuclear test explosion by the country.

The US and South Korea have said such a launch could be a cover to test ballistic missiles.

The preparations for the Workers’ Party of Korea anniversary appear to have begun as early as May, when satellite images captured approximately 45 tents assembled at a former Pyongyang airbase, according to an analysis posted on website 38 North.

North Korea often boasts of its “nuclear deterrence”, accusing the United States of seeking to start a war of aggression.

Soldiers in tanks parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, Saturday, Oct…

When announcing plans for the “grand-style” parade back in February, the ruling party’s top decision-making body had stressed the importance of displaying “cutting-edge” weaponry suitable for modern warfare.

Military equipment is paraded in Pyongyang, North Korea, Saturday, October 10, 2015.

The highly orchestrated event – with goose-stepping soldiers, convoys of rocket launchers and missiles, and fighter jets roaring overhead – was the biggest parade North Korea has ever held, part of Kim’s efforts to bolster his leadership of the world’s most closed and authoritarian state.

Mr. Kim, clad in black, walked down a red carpet and saluted his honour guard. He then walked up to a podium and waved to the troops. However, the only noticeable global presence was a senior official from China’s Communist Party. Kim smiled as he spoke with Liu by means of an interpreter.

The guest list was less impressive.

Instead, Xi became the first Chinese president to make an official trip to South Korea before traveling to North Korea – which he has yet to do – since the normalization of ties between Beijing and Seoul in 1992.

North Korea’s regime is fond of saber rattling and has made plenty of threats before. Tickets for foreigners hoping to attend the concert were going for $114 a pop.

The spectacle promised to be the most elaborate since Kim assumed power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Illinois, in late 2011.

On Friday, senior state officials led a mass gathering in Pyongyang singing the praises of the party and the leader.

North Korean watchers are paying attention to see if the four-day visit starting Friday by Liu, who sits on the Chinese ruling party’s seven-member standing committee, will pave the way for a dramatic improvement in bilateral relations.

He made no direct mention of the country’s nuclear programme, likely a conciliatory diplomatic gesture towards China, which hosted the now-defunct “six-party talks”, also involving the United States, on giving economic incentives to Pyongyang in return for scrapping its atomic ambitions.