Pyongyang, October 11(HS): North Korea held a grand military parade at Kim Il Sung Square to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its ruling Workers’ Party, showcasing a powerful display of its military capabilities, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The event was attended by prominent foreign dignitaries such as Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev, underlining Pyongyang’s deepening diplomatic ties with Beijing and Moscow.

The parade comes at a time when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is emboldened by close military cooperation with Russia, following reports of thousands of North Korean troops supporting Russian forces in the Ukraine war. Last month, Kim Jong Un made an appearance alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a military spectacle in Beijing, further highlighting North Korea’s alignment with these powers.

This year’s anniversary celebrations arrive amid speculation that a meeting between North Korea and the United States could take place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea, an encounter that could mark a new chapter in nuclear diplomacy.

While President Donald Trump famously held several summits with Kim during his first term, progress towards denuclearization stalled, and North Korea now proclaims itself an “irreversible” nuclear state.A recent joint statement from Russia and North Korea reaffirmed Moscow's support for Pyongyang's efforts to strengthen its defense capabilities as the North celebrates its ruling party's legacy and signals its determination to maintain strategic autonomy on the Korean Peninsula.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar