North Korea Conducts Military Parade Before Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
In a move that surprised everyone, North Korea, who is participating in this Winter Olympics in South Korea, performed a military parade in Pyongyang one day before the sporting fest, reports VOA News.
Reports from South Korea suggested tens of thousands of people attended the parade in the country’s capital and rallied in the city’s Kim Il-sung Square. The military show in Pyongyang marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s army.
The hermit nation usually marks April 25 as the day when Kim Il-sung established the first army for the revolution. However, the current regime declared in January that it was moving the day of celebration to February 8.
Many analysts from all over the world agree it is a political stunt so as to gain the world’s attention before the global sporting event in which North Korea is taking part as well, reports Yahoo. Not only that, in a shocking twist a few weeks before, North Korea agreed with their Southern neighbors to march under the same flag in the Winter Olympics.
North Korea experts told there were no long-range ballistic missiles revealed in the parade, but they saw a new solid-fuel, short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) in the Kim Il-sung Square event.
The new missile does appear to be slightly larger than North Korea’s existing solid-fuel, short-range missile system — the Toksa (SS-21) — so would presumably have a longer range, making it roughly equivalent to the Iskander or Hyunmoo-2 systems.
The country’s last parade in April 2017 was aired on state television. This time, it was not shown live; hours later the event was broadcast on TV.
North Korea Delegation Arrives At Winter Olympics
A North Korean mission led by Kim Jong-un’s sister arrived in Seoul to take part in the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, as per WFTV.
Kim Yo-jong, one of Kim’s trusted persons, is the first member of the North’s ruling family to visit South Korea since the Korean War in the ’50s.
Kim Jong-un’s regime has sent nearly 500 people to participate in the Pyeongchang Games directly or indirectly, including officials, athletes, and artists.
A team of 230 state-trained cheerleaders is believed to have made friendly gestures for the South in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
