North Korea’s Military Parade Celebrates 80 Years of the Korean Workers’ Party in Power
WARSAW, POLAND – In Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea (ROK), intelligence officials waited in anticipation of a North Korean military parade expected to take place on Friday night.
The parade and accompanying celebration were to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the birth of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP).
HWASONG-18 ICBM North Korea. Image Credit: North Korean state media.
North Korea Shows Off New Weapons and More
The official intelligence assessment from the ROK’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) indicated that the parade would take place at night to create a more dramatic spectacle for the population and visiting dignitaries. The parade, according to the armed forces’ intelligence service, was likely to proceed regardless of any inclement weather, as rain had been forecast for Friday evening in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) capital, Pyongyang.
At a briefing on Friday in Seoul, a JCS official speaking to the local media stated that the DPRK military has been conducting a series of final rehearsals for the parade at night for the past few days in preparation for the actual event.
These “practice runs” are similar to the preparations undertaken this past August by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in advance of the September 3 parade in Beijing that celebrated 80 years since the surrender of Japan in WWII.
The JCS official said the Korean People’s Army (KPA) appeared to be conducting final rehearsals involving a large amount of military equipment and missiles. “We assess there is a high possibility the parade will take place tonight,” the official said on Friday.
He added that “rainfall of around 1 millimeter per hour is expected from late afternoon, which should allow the event to proceed, though it could affect air assets.”
Analysis by the North Korean information site NK Pro showed the DPRK had been visibly preparing to hold this military parade for months now. The timing of these events in the past had suggested the event could take place anytime from late Thursday to Friday.
North Korea Increasing Alliance With Russia
Prior to the celebration, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un affirmed what he described as his country’s fight against a US-led military threat.
He also vowed to turn the North Korean state into “the best socialist paradise in the world.”
This address was delivered with Chinese, Russian, and other foreign dignitaries in attendance.
Meanwhile, the DPRK’s increasingly stalwart ally, Russia, was represented by Dmitri Medvedev, the former president (2008-2012), who now serves as deputy head of the Security Council chaired by Russian resident Vladimir Putin.
The message he was there to deliver was that the alliance of the two nations only grows stronger with each day and had a distinctly anti-Western tone.
“Friends are together, enemies are nervous,” Medvedev wrote in a post on the new Russian state-backed messenger platform MAX.
Celebrations by the Workers’ Party of Korea had already begun on Thursday night with a mass games performance, where leader Kim Jong Un gave a speech praising the country’s political system to hundreds of foreign guests.
The year 2025 will also officially mark the conclusion of the DPRK’s five-year weapons development plan.
Friday’s parade was widely expected to highlight many of the Kim family regime’s priorities and new military programs.
The advancements made in the past 12-18 months are at least partially credited to military technology transferred to Pyongyang by Moscow.
Most likely, Missile design, rocket motor development plans, and assistance in numerous other areas have been sent to the DPRK in exchange for thousands of North Korean soldiers sent to fight with the Russian forces in Ukraine and a cornucopia of artillery shells and other munitions.
At the “Defense Development-2025” arms exhibition that opened on October 4, the DPRK showed off several new weapons systems that could also appear in the parade.
These include a hypersonic variant of the Hwasong-11 short-range ballistic missile, two new submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and two types of supersonic cruise missiles.
Friday Night Follies
The parade kicked off Friday night as predicted and was the centerpiece for this year’s celebration of one of the DPRK’s biggest holidays.
Held on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, the event included tens of thousands of soldiers goose-stepping despite the rain, as well as a massive fireworks display.
Also, as predicted, some of the DPRK’s newest weapon systems rolled through the square and past the reviewing stand.
These included multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), drones, surface-to-air missile systems, and hypersonic glide vehicles.
Hwasong-20 ICBM Shows Off
The most-anticipated and the center of attention for those watching Kim’s missile and nuclear programs was the KPA’s “next generation” ICBM, the Hwasong-20. This missile represents a significant leap in capability for the DPRK, in that it is a solid-fuel missile that Kim’s propagandists claim could reach the continental United States.
The same JCS official who spoke to the media earlier on Friday had also commented on the possibility of seeing this new ICBM on the parade. “If the missile is displayed and images or footage are released, we will be able to conduct an analysis then,” he said.
The missile is reportedly yet to be tested, but Kim described it as the country’s “most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system.”
Flanked by high-level Chinese, Vietnamese, and Russian officials at the podium, Kim gave a speech stating that his military “should continue to grow into an invincible entity that destroys all threats.”
However, he made no direct mention of either of the two nations that state propagandists have always identified as the nation’s main adversaries: the United States and South Korea.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson has thirty-six years of experience analyzing and reporting on foreign weapons systems, defense technologies, and international arms export policy. Johnson is the Director of the Asia Research Centre at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. He is also a survivor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He worked for years in the American defense industry as a foreign technology analyst and later as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Departments of the Navy and Air Force, and the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2022-2023, he won two awards in a row for his defense reporting. He holds a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and a master’s degree from Miami University in Ohio, specializing in Soviet and Russian studies. He lives in Warsaw.
More Military
Canada’s F-35 Fighter Program Has Passed the Point of No Return
USS Oriskany: The Navy Essex-Class Aircraft Carrier That Was Sunk On Purpose
Nimitz-Class Nuclear Aircraft Carrier USS John C. Stennis ‘Out Action’ for 5 Years
Australia’s Mogami-Class Frigate Buy from Japan Is a Big Deal
The F-14 Tomcat Fighter Could Stop Enemy Tanks In Their Tracks
