North Korean leader touts military might
PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took center stage at a military parade and mass rally in the capital on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the country’s ruling party by declaring in a rare speech that the country has no intention of straying from the socialist track established by his grandfather and is ready to stand up to any threat posed by the United States.
With the eyes of the world upon him, Kim confidently and firmly delivered the speech from the balcony of the palatial People’s Grand Study House as tens of thousands of his countrymen and an unusually large contingent of foreign journalists watched from their places below on the capital’s iconic Kim Il Sung Square.
To punctuate his rhetoric, thousands of goose-stepping troops, tanks, armored vehicles, rocket launchers and missiles mounted on trucks rolled through the square. Military aircraft flew in formation above, forming the symbol of the Workers’ Party of Korea: a hammer, brush and sickle. Another group of planes formed the number 70.
Kim, who is in his early 30s, walked down a red carpet and saluted his honor guard before delivering the often fiery speech.
“Our revolutionary force is ready to respond to any kind of war the American imperialists want,” he said, flanked by visiting Chinese official Liu Yunshan and senior North Korean officials. He said North Korea’s policy of putting its military first has made it “an impenetrable fortress and a global military power.”
Brightly colored floats and thousands of civilian marchers waving red and pink bouquets of plastic flowers followed the military show. Others held up cards to spell out Kim’s name.
As the parade ended, Kim waved to the crowd and raised clasped hands with Liu.
The afternoon rally, delayed by heavy rain the night before that required extensive mopping up in the square, was followed by a torchlight rally and fireworks display. The finale was a concert on a stage set up on a river running through central Pyongyang. Tickets for foreigners hoping to attend the concert were going for $114 a pop.
Altogether, it was the most elaborate spectacle North Korea has put on since Kim assumed power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in late 2011.
The military parade was somewhat more elaborate than a similar anniversary event held two years ago, an indication that rolling tanks and missiles through the center of the capital is still seen by the North Korean government as an attentiongetting way of showing the world and its own people that the Kim dynasty remains firmly in control and its military a power to be reckoned with.
But, in a reflection of North Korea’s international isolation, no world leaders were present.
Liu, the No. 5 leader in the Chinese Communist Party, was the most senior foreign dignitary, though Cuba, Vietnam and other countries sent delegations.
Kim has yet to make a state visit abroad, and his highest-profile visitor to date was former U.S. basketball star Dennis Rodman.