North Korea holds anniversary parade sans ballistic missiles
Associated Press
Although North Korea stages military parades almost every year, and held one just before the Olympics began in South Korea in February this year, Sunday's parade came at a particularly sensitive time. | Associated PressKim attended the morning parade but did not address the assembled crowd, which included the head of the Chinese parliament and high-level delegations from countries that have friendly ties with the North. | Associated PressThis year's celebrations also mark the revival of North Korea's iconic mass games after a five-year hiatus. The mass games involve tens of thousands of people holding up placards or dancing in precise unison and are intended to be a display of national unity. | Associated PressKim's effort to ease tensions with President Donald Trump have stalled since their June summit in Singapore. | Associated PressBoth US and North Korea are now insisting on a different starting point. | Associated PressHeavy weaponry rolls past during a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding day in Pyongyang. | Associated PressWashington wants Kim to commit to denuclearisation first, but Pyongyang wants its security guaranteed and a peace agreement formally ending the Korean War. | Associated PressWith tensions once again on the rise, a parade featuring the very missiles that so unnerved Trump last year, and led to a dangerous volley of insults from both leaders, could be seen as a deliberate provocation. | Associated PressSoldiers march past during a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding day in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. | Associated PressParticipants march during a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding day in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. | Associated PressAfter a truncated parade featuring tanks, fewer than the usual number of missiles and lots of goose-stepping units from all branches of the military, along with some students and others, the focus switched to civilian groups, ranging from nurses to construction workers, many with colourful floats beside them. | Associated PressParticipants march during a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding day in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday. | Associated PressA North Korean cameraman captures a contingent as it marches past during a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding day in Pyongyang, North Korea. | Associated Press