SEOUL, August 8 North Korea is holding a parade from midnight on September 9 civil defense forces in honor of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the country, the South Korean Yonhap agency reports, citing unnamed sources.
It is noted that after the pre-parade ceremony at 0.00 Saturday (18.00 Friday Moscow time) the parade began on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. North Korea previously announced that it would hold a parade on September 9 with the participation of civil defense forces.
As the agency reports, the parade will most likely be attended not by regular troops, but by the North Korean equivalent of reservists — the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Guard, an analogue of the police — public security forces. Strategic weapons such as intercontinental ballistic missiles are not included in the parade.
In a similar parade in 2021, the DPRK mobilized a number of conventional equipment such as tractors, fire engines and multi-purpose missiles.
This is the third parade this year in North Korea after February 8 in honor of the Founding Day of the DPRK Army and the July 27 parade in honor of Victory Day in the Korean War (1950-1953).
It is not yet known whether the country's leader Kim Jong-un is present at the parade, and whether he will read out a speech. The previous two parades did not feature a leader's speech, with others such as Defense Minister Kang Soon-nam delivering speeches. It is reported that a delegation from China led by Deputy Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Liu Guozhong is apparently present at the parade. As for guests from Russia, there is no information about this yet.
In the past, the DPRK held parades in the morning, but since the 75th anniversary of the founding of the party in October 2020, parades have been held at night.