Signs of North Korean military parade have been detected by the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the U.S. North Korea fired tactical guided missiles at the dawn of the new year, making a series of provocations. The intelligence authorities are closely monitoring the situation with a focus on the signs of military parade to mark the 80th birthday of the regime’s former leader Kim Jong Il, which is February 16.
According to the South Korean military authority on Thursday, its reconnaissance satellite captured images of a large number of soldiers and weapons gathering and marching near the Mirim airfield in Pyongyang, which Seoul and Washington consider as a rehearsal for military parade. The satellite imagery reportedly did not capture strategic weapons system such as ICBM, and the number of soldiers mobilized was about the same as that of the military parade held last year (8,000-10,000 soldiers).
Earlier, North Korea held a midnight military parade on Sept. 9, 2021 at Kim Il Sung Square marking the 73rd anniversary of the nation’s foundation. Strategic weapons system such as ICBM and SLBM and the regular army and weapons were not mobilized at the time, and instead the Worker-Peasant Red Guards (equivalent to the reserved army forces) and civilian defense and public security forces (similar to the police) participated in the event. Meanwhile, the country’s leader Kim Jong Un did not deliver a speech. Given that North Korea forewarned a large-scale event commemorating 80th birthday of Kim Jong Il (Feb. 20) and 110th birthday of Kim Il Sung (April 15), it is anticipated that the forthcoming military parade will showcase strategic weapons system, such as its newly built ICBM, to boast the strength of the regime’s defense capability under Kim Jong Un’s leadership.
Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com
