The Business Press – June 26, 2023 at 03:30PM
Over the weekend, tens of thousands of North Koreans marched in anti-U.S. rallies in the nation’s capital and pledged merciless revenge against U.S. imperialists as the country marked the 73rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War, according to state media. More than 120,000 people participated in the mass rallies in Pyongyang, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said.
The demonstrators mobilized in Pyongyang promoted their government’s version of events and accused the United States of provoking the war and leaving Koreans with wounds that can never be healed.
Photos published by the North’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed a Pyongyang stadium packed with likely tens of thousands of people in COVID-19 masks, raising their fists in the air and holding signs that read: “Let’s eradicate U.S. imperialist invaders” and “The entire U.S. mainland is within our striking range.”
They also expressed pride in North Korea’s expanding nuclear weapons and missile programs, insisting their country now has the strongest absolute weapon to punish the U.S. imperialists and the war deterrence for self-defense which no enemy dare provoke.
The weekend rallies came amidst heightened tensions in the region as the pace of North Korean weapons demonstrations and the United States’ joint military exercises with South Korea have both intensified in a cycle of tit-for-tat.
There are signs that Kim is preparing to further flaunt his military might by staging a huge military parade in Pyongyang next month that will likely feature his most powerful missiles. Recent commercial satellite images have spotted troop and vehicle movements and the building of structures that suggest North Korea is preparing for a parade, likely for the July 27 anniversary of the Korean War armistice agreement, which the North marks as the great war victory day.
These recent developments have heightened tensions in the region and the world at large, highlighting the need for continued diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict between North Korea and the rest of the world.
The Business Press 