Hazmat suits, gas masks: North Korea holds surreal military parade in the dead of the night
North Korea celebrated the 73rd anniversary of its foundation with a night-time military parade in the capital, state media reported on Thursday, publishing photographs of marching rows of personnel in orange hazmat suits but no ballistic missiles.
Kim Jong-un, the leader of the reclusive state, attended the event as paramilitary and public security forces of the WorkerPeasant Red Guards, the country’s largest civilian defence force, began marching in Pyongyang’s Kim Il-sung square at midnight on Wednesday, state media showed.
Rodong Sinmun, the ruling Worker’s Party newspaper, published photographs of people in orange hazmat suits with medical-grade masks in an apparent symbol of anti-coronavirus efforts, and troops holding rifles marching together.
Some conventional weapons were also on display, including multiple rocket launchers and tractors carrying anti-tank missiles. But no ballistic missiles were seen or mentioned in the reports, and Kim did not deliver any speech, unlike last October when he boasted of the country’s nuclear capabilities and showcased intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“The columns of emergency epidemic prevention and the ministry of public health were full of patriotic enthusiasm to display the advantages of the socialist system all over the world, while firmly protecting the security of the country and its people from the worldwide pandemic,” the KCNA said.