N. Korea holds off on advanced missiles at anniversary parade

North Korea rolled out some of its latest tanks and marched its best-trained goose-stepping units in a major military parade on Sunday to mark its 70th anniversary, but held back its most advanced missiles and devoted nearly half of the event to civilian efforts to build the domestic economy.

The strong emphasis on the economy underscores leader Kim Jong Un’s new strategy of putting economic development front and centre.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans waving brightly colored plastic bouquets filled Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square as the parade began. Residents of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, trained for months for the anniversary and held up the bouquets to spell out words and slogans that can be seen from the VIP viewing area.

Kim attended the morning parade but did not address the assembled crowd, which included the head of the Chinese parliament and high-level delegations from countries that have friendly ties with the North. North Korean soldiers march with a float showing late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung during a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding day in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday.

At the end of the two-hour event he strolled to the edge of the balcony with the Chinese special envoy, Li Zhanshu, the third-ranking member in China’s ruling Communist Party.

The two held up their joined hands to symbolize the countries’ traditionally close ties, though the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping could indicate Beijing still has some reservations about

Kim’s initiatives.

Senior statesman Kim Yong Nam, the head of North Korea’s parliament, set the relatively softer tone for the event with an opening speech that emphasized the economic goals of the regime, not its nuclear might. He called on the military to be ready to work to help build the economy.

After a truncated parade featuring tanks and some of

North Korea’s biggest artillery, fewer than the usual number of missiles and lots of goose-stepping units from all branches of the military, the focus switched to civilian groups ranging from nurses to students to construction workers, many with colorful floats beside them.

The combining of military and civilian sections is a familiar North Korean parade format.