Military: "DPRK Conducting Parade Rehearsals with Missiles... Nighttime Parade Likely Tonight"
- Input
- 2025-10-10 13:20:52
- Updated
- 2025-10-10 13:20:52
A military official stated, "The DPRK is currently conducting parade rehearsals mobilizing equipment and missiles," adding, "With precipitation levels expected to be around 1mm per hour late in the afternoon, the likelihood of a nighttime event is high."
This parade is being held two years after the 75th anniversary of the regime's founding in September 2023, marking a major anniversary that falls on a five- or ten-year interval. Based on precedent, it was anticipated that the event might take place late on the night of the 9th or around midnight as the 10th begins.
However, the DPRK instead invited key foreign guests—including the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council—to a celebratory performance at the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium on Rungra Island in Pyongyang, without holding the parade. The stadium, with a maximum capacity of about 114,000, is known as the second largest in the world by seating capacity.
At this 80th anniversary parade of the Workers' Party of Korea, which is being held for the first time in two years, it is expected that the 'Hwasong-11Ma', a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) upgraded to a hypersonic missile and unveiled at the 'Defense Development-2025' exhibition in Pyongyang on the 4th, will make an appearance. Two new types of Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM) and two new types of hypersonic cruise missiles are also anticipated. In addition, the latest strategic weapons such as the new Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) 'Hwasong-20' and new drones equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) may also be showcased.
wangjylee@fnnews.com Lee Jong-yoon Reporter