The Democratic People's Republic of Korea staged massive celebrations in Pyongyang's main square on Sunday with a grand military parade to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of founding leader Kim Il Sung.
Speaking to tens of thousands of people gathered at Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang, the country’s new leader Kim Jong Un called upon the whole nation to stick to the path blazed by his predecessors and strive to win new victories.
The massive military parade is a highlight of the festivities marking the centennial of the birth of Kim Il Sung, who passed away in 1994.
A march-past of more than 30 phalanxes of army, naval and air forces, workers and peasants, students and female soldiers was staged amid thunderous cheers from the crowds.
A wide array of military hardware, including tanks, shore-to-ship missiles, and ground-to-air missiles, rumbled past the podium.
Among the weapons displayed was a new type of missile, but no specific information about the missile was released.
Military analysts in Japan and South Korea said the missile on display on Sunday appeared to bigger than anything that had previously been displayed, but they said further examination would be required to tell whether it was an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile - something that the DPRK has reportedly had in the works for quite some time.
The country’s young leader Kim Jong Un smiled and saluted the soldiers and crowds throughout the parade.
In his first major public speech, the leader made it clear that the military will continue to have a dominant role in running the country, just as it did under his father and former leader Kim Jong Il, who died in December.
DPRK leader Kim Jong-un said, "It breaks my heart to see our people, who have lived on the same land, suffering from the agony of division for about 70 years. We will strive responsibly and patiently to accomplish the historic mission of unification."
This was Kim’s first public speech since becoming first secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, chairman of the WPK Central Military Commission and first chairman of the National Defence Commission.
Although the DPRK endured an embarrassing failure on Friday when its much-anticipated launch of a long-range rocket broke into pieces shortly after liftoff, Sunday’s address was seen as an expression of confidence by the young leader and a signal designed to show that he is firmly in control.