A military parade took place in North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang on Thursday, South Korean government sources said citing information received from the US military, Japan’s NHK reports.
According to the sources, the parade, which kicked off at 10:30 local time, is the first one to take place in Pyongyang since April 2017. It was dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Korean People’s Army.
North Korea’s media have not issued any reports concerning the parade, neither was it shown on TV, though the country’s central television started broadcasting earlier than usual, NHK said.
Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported earlier that on Thursday, a large amount of military equipment had been detected on Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, where military parades usually take place. In particular, a Canadian citizen who is currently in Pyongyang tweeted photos of military hardware.
A few days ago, South Korean media reported citing space surveillance data that preparations for a military parade were likely to be underway at an airfield on the outskirts of Pyongyang, which allegedly involved up to 12,000 troops and up to 600 pieces of military equipment.