A massive anti-US rally was staged in North Korea on Tuesday, marking the 74th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Participants expressed their determination to strengthen Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities.
North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on Wednesday that more than 100,000 people, including workers and students, took part in the rally at a stadium in Pyongyang.
The newspaper quoted one participant as saying that North Korea will multiply its strongest war deterrents by a hundredfold or a thousandfold to terminate those who stand in the way of the country’s prominence.
The participants later marched through the streets with banners that read “Destroy the American invaders who are the sworn enemy of the Korean people.”
North Korea is expected to hold a plenary meeting of its ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee this week. It will be the first such meeting in six months.
Attention is focused on how leader Kim Jong Un will address his country’s relations with Russia.
Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty last week that pledges mutual military assistance if either of their countries is placed under a state of war.
Observers will also be watching for Kim’s remarks on the relaunch of military reconnaissance satellites as well as references to the United States and South Korea.