North Korea celebrated the 105th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth, North Korea’s founder, in a customary grandiose display on Saturday afternoon.
Troop formations, missile displays, and armored vehicles rolled through the massive Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, as the country’s current leader, Kim Jong Un, perched on the balcony and gave the occasional nod and salute to thousands of his subjects below.
April 15, also known as the “Day of the Sun,” remains significant for the reclusive nation — not only to celebrate its deified founder, but for the opportunity to show the world a glimpse of its military power and the latest technological advances in its arsenal.
One of the debuts included the Pukkuksong-2 SLBM, a submarine-launched ballistic missile, loaded on trucks, according to Reuters.
The parade comes amid rising tensions between North Korea and the rest of the world, after a week-long series of spats directed toward the US, and a looming possibility of the nation’s sixth nuclear test. A carrier strike group led by USS Carl Vinson made its way toward North Korea, in addition to a WC-135 “nuke-sniffer” being deployed to neighboring Japan.
source: businessinsider.com