North Korea carries out nighttime parade to celebrate army anniversary: Report

North Korea on Wednesday (February 8) held a widely anticipated military parade, said South Korea's Yonhap news agency. The parade was expected to showcase the country's latest weapons to mark founding anniversary of the army. International analysts have said that imagery obtained from commercial satellites has for months shown North Korean troops practicing for major parade.

As of Wednesday night, North Korea's state media had not reported on the parade.

North Korea's past four military parades occurred after dark, and state media did not report on the events until the next day. It was not immediately known if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over Wednesday's parade.

Such parades are typically held in downtown Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square and often used to show off new weapons, including ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads.

Kim called on Tuesday for strengthening the military as he paid tribute to soldiers and met with troops to commemorate the anniversary, the North's state media reported on Wednesday.

"For the strengthening and development of our armed forces, let us all double our efforts and do more for the prosperous development of the socialist motherland," he said during a speech at a banquet, accompanied by his wife and daughter, according to state news agency KCNA.

He spoke a day after pledging to expand military drills and beef up the nuclear-armed country's war readiness posture.

(With inputs from agencies)

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