North Korea Plans Military Parade on Eve of The Olympics
The Winter Olympics opening ceremony may not be the only parade North Korea is planning on participating in next month.
Invitations sent to diplomats and satellite imagery suggest Pyongyang is preparing for a major military parade on the eve of the Pyeongchang games, which begin February 9 and will feature North Korean athletes and cheering squads.
A copy of what appears to be a letter sent from North Korean authorities to defense attaches, seen by CNN, invites them and their spouses “to attend festival functions held in Pyongyang” to mark the 70th anniversary of the formal creation of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) on February 8.
Diplomatic sources in Pyongyang told CNN that defense attaches with relations to North Korea had received invitations to the event.
On Thursday, North Korea analyst website NK News published satellite images believed to show preparations underway in Pyongyang for the event at the Mirim Parade Training Ground.
“(The ground) is typically very active prior to parades, while it sits fairly empty for the rest of the year,” the report said, adding preparations for very large parades “are visible for months ahead of time.”
A parade in Pyongyang would give leader Kim Jong Un a chance to remind the international community that while North Korea may be willing to talk peace right now, its military and nuclear capabilities have not lessened.