黑料社

SEOUL 鈥� North Korea staged a parade of 鈥減aramilitary and public security forces鈥� in Pyongyang in the early hours of Thursday, state media reported, the nuclear-armed nation鈥檚 third procession in less than a year.

Pyongyang has continued to pursue its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs 鈥� for which it is internationally sanctioned 鈥� during the diplomatic engagement of recent years and often uses military parades to show off its latest developments.

At the last one in January 鈥� days before Joe Biden鈥檚 inauguration as US president 鈥� submarine-launched ballistic missiles rolled through Kim Il Sung Square in front of a grinning Kim Jong Un, with the official KCNA news agency describing them as the 鈥渨orld鈥檚 most powerful weapon鈥�.

But Thursday鈥檚 event was significantly less assertive, including detachments from the railways ministry, Air Koryo and the Hungnam Fertilizer Complex, and no mention of strategic weapons systems on display.

Leader Kim appeared before the cheering crowd as fireworks went off at midnight and 鈥渆xtended warm greetings to all the people of the country鈥�, KCNA reported. It did not quote him giving a speech.

The pageant featured Red Guards and members of the ruling Workers鈥� Party, it said, as well as parachutists, mechanized paramilitary units and a flypast.

Co-operative farm workers drove 鈥渢ractors hauling artillery pieces to pound the aggressors and their vassal forces with annihilating firepower in case of emergency鈥�, KCNA added.

But instead of the giant missiles 鈥� whether real or models 鈥� that are the usual climax to a military parade, the last unit to enter the square was the public security forces鈥� fire brigade.

鈥淲e are closely monitoring the situation,鈥� an official of South Korea鈥檚 defense ministry told AFP. 鈥淢ore details require further analysis.鈥�

鈥楧ead of night鈥�

Pyongyang has previously used parades to send messages to audiences abroad and at home, usually timing them to coincide with anniversaries.

Thursday marks 73 years since the foundation of the Democratic People鈥檚 Republic of Korea, as the North is officially known.

But three displays in the space of 12 months 鈥� a military parade in January marked a five-yearly congress of the ruling Workers鈥� Party, and came after one in October for the organization鈥檚 75th anniversary 鈥� is unusually frequent.

It has not carried out a nuclear test or an intercontinental ballistic missile launch since 2017.

Instead, Pyongyang has looked to exploit parades without risking escalation, said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

鈥淭he only other way to show off their strategic weapons is to launch them, which carries the risk of sparking protest and further international sanctions,鈥� he told AFP.

鈥淭he North must have felt a need to apply pressure to the US to come to the negotiating table鈥� on its terms, he added.

Nuclear talks with the United States have been at a standstill since the collapse of a 2019 summit in Hanoi between Kim and then president Donald Trump over sanctions relief and what North Korea would be willing to give up in return.

Biden鈥檚 North Korea envoy Sung Kim has repeatedly expressed his willingness to meet his North Korean counterparts 鈥渁nywhere, at any time鈥�.

The Biden administration has promised a 鈥減ractical, calibrated approach鈥�, including diplomatic efforts, to persuade Pyongyang to give up its banned weapons programs.

But the impoverished North has never shown any indication it would be willing to surrender its nuclear arsenal, and has rebuffed South Korean efforts to revive dialogue.

Last month, the UN atomic agency (IAEA) said Pyongyang appeared to have started its plutonium-producing reprocessing reactor at Yongbyon, calling it a 鈥渄eeply troubling鈥� development, and Kim鈥檚 sister and key adviser Kim Yo Jong demanded the withdrawal of US troops from the peninsula.

At the same time, North Korea is under a self-imposed coronavirus blockade, having closed its borders to protect against the coronavirus that first emerged in neighboring China, adding to the pressure on its moribund economy.

Domestically the parade was an opportunity to shore up morale and 鈥渕ass solidarity for the regime鈥�, Hong Min added.

鈥淭aking place in the dead of night, it gives the public something to enjoy.鈥�