At N Korea military parade, Kim urges nuclear weapons development | Military News

Parade started at 10pm local time in Pyongyang, after state media urged people and armed forces to pledge ‘absolute loyalty’ to the country’s leader.

North Korea held a military parade in Pyongyang to mark the founding of its army – a notable national holiday – as leader Kim Jong Un vowed to step up the development of banned nuclear weapons.

The night time parade also showcased the North’s largest and newest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-17state media reported on Tuesday.

“The nuclear force of the Republic must be ready to exercise its responsible mission and unique deterrence anytime,” Kim said at the event, according to KCNA.

The fundamental mission of the North’s nuclear force is to deter war, but that may not be the only use if other countries impose undesired circumstances, he added.

The parade began on Monday at 10pm local time (13:00 GMT), South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing an “informed source”.

NK News, a US-based outlet, noted that the capital’s main Kim Il Sung Square had been busy and roads closed, while illuminated objects were seen in the air above the city at night. The parade ended with a fireworks display after about 90 minutes, it said.

State media did not immediately release any pictures of the celebrations.

Pyongyang has carried out a flurry of weapons tests since the start of the year including its first launch of an ICBM in nearly five years.

The country usually marks key anniversaries with a display of might and was widely expected to hold a military parade on April 15 to mark 110 years since the birth of the country’s founder and Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung.

In the event, it marked that day with a mass celebration of dancing, singing and fireworksbut satellite imagery revealed what appeared to be rehearsals for a parade involving thousands of troops at a training ground near the capital.

Ahead of Monday’s parade, state media urged the country’s citizens and the armed forces to pledge their “absolute loyalty” to Kim.

“We must more thoroughly establish the revolutionary discipline and order, in which the party, nation and the people move in unity under the leadership of the central party with the ideologies and intentions of our respected and beloved general secretary boiling within our hearts,” it said.

Since Kim took control of the country following his father’s death a little over 10 years ago, North Korea has held 12 major military stops for national celebrations.