North Korea held a massive military parade to celebrate its 70th anniversary on Sunday. But, in a huge departure from tradition, this year’s parade did not feature long-range missiles.
The theme of the celebrations was economic development and bringing together the Korean peninsula, Reuters reported. The parade was smaller in scale than expected and swapped the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) that are usually on display with floats and flowers.
About 100,000 people were also estimated to have performed in the first Arirang Mass Games to be held in five years, a choreographed pageant to display national unity.
Not invoking the nuclear weapons programme may be a signal of support for the country’s ongoing negotiations with the US. Sure enough, President Donald Trump tweeted a thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un.
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