There are no signs that soldiers training for the Oct. 10 military parade have been ordered to suspend their activities, nor have the number of participants been reduced, a Daily NK military source reported earlier today.
The soldiers are “completely focused” on the training and are practicing for the event “day and night without rest,” the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told Daily NK.
While some experts have suggested that the festivities on Oct. 10 could be toned down because of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent admission that the country is facing dire economic issues, the source’s report strongly suggests that North Korea will go ahead with the military parade as original planned.
The parade is reportedly going to be North Korea’s largest ever with some 23,000 participants.
In past years, military parade participants have typically gathered in Pyongyang four months before the event to conduct mass training exercises. North Korea has delayed the start of these exercises three times this year as part of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Workers’ Party of Korea on Oct. 10, 2015. / Image: Yonhap
The short time remaining before the event on Oct. 10 means that North Korean military authorities are in a hurry to get prepared. From Sept. 6, there are plans to hold a full rundown of the entire military parade in Kim Il Sung Square, the source said.
North Korean military authorities are also reportedly emphasizing that soldiers should not take off their masks during the exercises, despite the stifling heat. The source told Daily NK that many young soldiers frequently fail to abide by this rule.
Disease control authorities in the military have reported threatened the commanders of the military divisions, military officer schools and military universities participating in the parade that they will face a “serious evaluation” about the failure to have soldiers wear masks during the exercises.
“[Disease control authorities] are strongly suggesting that [soldiers] think of the military parade training as similar to anti-chemical warfare training where they are wearing gas masks,” the source said, adding, “They are demanding that the soldiers follow disease control guidelines no matter what, even in these difficult circumstances.”
The military parade appears likely to go ahead as planned unless other variables come into play and despite the fact that the country is still operating its “maximum emergency system.” According to the source, it is likely that the leadership believes that holding the military parade will help relay Kim Jong Un’s “hard line message” to both domestic and international audiences.
“[The North Korean leadership] has judged that they must go ahead with the military parade to clearly show that the worsening of the economy is due to external forces threatening the regime and to strengthen [the regime’s] justification for possessing nuclear weapons,” the source said, who added that the North Korean leadership has nothing left to show for itself except to “hold a successful military parade on Oct. 10.”
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