PYONGYANG - Hundreds of trucks carrying thousands of troops lined a Pyongyang riverbank in the pale light of dawn early Sunday, as nuclear-armed North Korea prepared to celebrate its birthday with a huge show of military strength. "Anniversaries are important in the DPRK, and this one is particularly so," said Evans Revere of the Brookings Institution think-tank in Washington. "These celebrations are also occasions for the leader to demonstrate accomplishments and national power, and to take credit for them." The content of the parade would be key, John Delury of Yonsei University in Seoul told AFP. In April Kim declared that the North's development of nuclear weapons had been completed and "socialist economic construction" would be the new strategic priority.

Source: Bangkok Post September 08, 2018 21:45 UTC