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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kim Jong Un vows North Korea ready to counter any U.S. threat

Eric Talmadge Associated Press

PYONGYANG, North Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took center stage at a military parade and mass rally in Pyongyang on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the country’s ruling party by declaring in a rare speech that the North has no intention of straying from the socialist track established by his grandfather and is ready to stand up to any threat posed by the United States.

With the eyes of the world upon him, Kim, the youngest and most enigmatic head of state, confidently and firmly delivered the speech from the balcony of the palatial People’s Grand Study House as tens of thousands of his countrymen and an unusually large international media contingent watched from their places below on the capital’s iconic Kim Il Sung Square.

To punctuate his rhetoric, thousands of goose-stepping troops, tanks, armored vehicles, rocket launchers and a variety of missiles mounted on trucks then rolled through the square. Military aircraft flew in formation overhead, forming the symbol of the Workers’ Party of Korea – a hammer, brush and sickle. Another group of planes formed the number 70 in the sky.

Kim, who is in his early 30s, walked down a red carpet and saluted his honor guard before taking the podium to deliver the often fiery speech.

“Our revolutionary force is ready to respond to any kind of war the American imperialists want,” he said, flanked by visiting Chinese official Liu Yunshan and senior North Korean officials. He said North Korea’s policy of putting its military first has made it “an impenetrable fortress and a global military power.”

Brightly colored floats and thousands of civilian marchers waving red and pink bouquets of plastic flowers followed the military show. Others held up cards to spell out Kim’s name.

The afternoon rally, delayed by heavy rains the night before that required extensive mopping up of the square, was followed by a torchlight rally and fireworks display. The finale was a concert on a special stage set up on a river running through central Pyongyang.

Altogether, it was the most elaborate spectacle North Korea has feted since Kim assumed power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in late 2011.

Though military parades fell out of fashion for about a decade starting in the 1990s, Saturday’s was somewhat more elaborate than a similar anniversary event held two years ago, a way of showing the world and its own people the Kim dynasty is firmly in control and its military a power to be reckoned with.

But, reflecting North Korea’s international isolation, no world leaders were present.

Liu, the No. 5 leader in the Chinese Communist Party, was the most senior foreign dignitary. Kim has yet to make a state visit abroad.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported that Liu told Kim that China was willing to work with North Korea for a quick resumption of nuclear talks. The talks, which aim to end the North’s nuclear program, stalled seven years ago and Beijing has grown increasingly vocal about its discomfort with Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.

North Korea has shown no interest in giving up its nuclear capability.

Kim didn’t specifically comment on North Korea’s nuclear or long-range missile capabilities at Saturday’s event. He spent most of his speech touting the party’s successes in improving the lives of the North Korean people in the face of external threats since the armistice that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korea maintains that its “military-first policy” is necessary to counter threats from South Korea and the United States, but officials have recently stressed the role of the party in improving the standard of living for the people, who are increasingly aware of how far they lag behind their affluent cousins south of the Demilitarized Zone and in economic giant China.