N.Korea stages massive parade, games to mark 70th anniversary

Pyongyang: North Korea on Sunday held a massive military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of its founding, an intelligence source said.

"The North held the military parade in the morning, and it has been completed," the source told.

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It is not yet clear whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un joined the event and if intercontinental ballistic missiles were put on display.

The North's media has stayed silent on the event, which is the first since Kim held a historic summit with US President Donald Trump in June.

Meanwhile, international journalists have been invited to watch the military parade, a torch-lit rally and the Arirang Mass Games, a highly choreographed event expected to involved hundreds of thousands of people.

The Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance Arirang or Arirang Games last took place in 2013.

This year's games, which tells a symbolic story of North Korea's history, are titled 'The Glorious Country'.

Analysis of satellite images from the past two weeks suggest this year's games, which will continue throughout September, are going to be very big.

With tickets for foreigners costing more than $930, the country could rake in foreign currency at a time it is still under sanctions from many Western nations.

National carrier Air Koryo has scheduled additional flights from Beijing to bring in more tourists to watch the performances.

Sunday's parade will be North Korea's second such event of the year.

The first came in February a day before South Korea held the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics. Those games helped kick start the current stage of rapprochement between the Koreas.

IANS