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North Korea holds massive military parade on eve of Olympics

NORTH Korea has been fairly quiet recently. Now it appears they have spent months preparing for something big - and they’ve tricked us all.

Matt Young
2 min read
February 9, 2018 - 12:08PM
North Korean TV has kept quiet over its plans for a major military parade.
North Korean TV has kept quiet over its plans for a major military parade.

NORTH Korea leader Kim Jong-un has appeared with First Lady Ro Sol-ju in a parade which displayed short and older mid-range technology in a show of defiance against South Korea’s Olympic extravaganza.

As usual, North Korea has kept its plans or a major military parade notoriously secret, leaving experts scratching their heads over to what expect.

Details over the event have slowly trickled out after North Korean TV broadcast the event hours after the fact.

Experts suggested the parade would begin at around 1:00pm AEST but nobody seemed to be quite sure. Some suggested it wouldn’t happen, others believed it had already occured.

The truth came from Paektu Cultural Exchange’s Michael Spavor, who was on the scene, and tweeted rare live footage.

The crowd could be heard shouting “You did a great job,” at the passing troops, according to AFP’s Seoul correspondent, Hawon Jung.

Marchers had been captured in aerial footage going through rehearsals for the parade in the North Korean capital, which was reportedly pushed forward thanks to the Winter Olympics schedule.

“A diplomatic source told CNN the event is expected to include of ‘hundreds’ of missiles and rockets in an attempt ‘to scare the hell out of the Americans,’” the publication reported.

“It’s an important distraction,” leading North Korea expert Dr Leonid Petrov told news.com.au.

“It’s to show how loyal the army is and to demonstrate the loyalty of the people.”

Paektu Cultural Exchange’s Michael Spavor, who is on the scene, tweeted that huge numbers of military trucks appear to be travelling along the Taedong River heading towards Kim Il-sung Square. Roads are starting to be blocked and cars are being diverted, in preparation for the big event, he posted.

The display comes as North Korean athletes begin arriving to take place in the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, dubbed the “Peace Olympics”.

Residents in Pyongyang are said to be “festive” and “friendly” on the country’s national holiday, despite the temperatures dropping to a cool -16C.

Yet North Korean TV has remained tight-lipped over what to expect.

North Korean TV streamed its usual propaganda ahead of the parade, including a documentary of Kim Jong-un’s achievements as supreme leader.

Many expected the parade to show off North Korea’s ballistic missile technology, the first show of force since North Korea’s “Day of the Sun” parade on April 15 last year, to celebrate the birth of Kim Il-sung, the country’s founder and Kim Jong-un’s grandfather.

“Some sources said there could be dozens of Hwasong-15 ICBMs on display today, perhaps even reaching TRIPLE digits,” Chad O’Carroll tweeted, referring to one of North Korea’s newest and most significant missiles.

“Yet none have been viewed in commercial satellite imagery. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.”

Last year’s parade was an eye-opener for the West, with many in the intelligence community “surprised” by North Korea’s growing military sophistication.

Notable was its Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missiles which North Korea had already started secretly testing two weeks before it was paraded. A month later, it was successfully flight tested.

Imagery analysis from the Mirim Parade Training Ground in Pyongyang has revealed numerous training grounds, including North Korean personnel spelling out “victory”.

“The participation of heavy military vehicles, including transporter erector launchers (TELs) for ballistic missiles, is probable,” The Diplomat surmised.

“Most significantly, this parade will be an opportunity for the outside world to gauge whether North Korea has mastered the craft of creating its own heavy-launch vehicles to carry, erect, and launch its new ballistic missiles.”

- Additional reporting by Debra Killalea

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/north-korea-expected-to-hold-massive-missile-parade-on-eve-of-olympics/news-story/d4288aeb4cb3e1d376deb54b46d7897e