Seoul: Pyongyang prepares military parade

The event could be held on September 9, the anniversary of the founding of the country. Last year, the regime unveiled a new ballistic missile. Meanwhile, trade with China has plummeted by 82% due to the pandemic. 

Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) - North Korea is preparing a military parade. In recent days 10 thousand troops have paraded through the capital Pyongyang. According to the South Korean military, the event could be held on September 9, the anniversary of the founding of the country in 1948. 

In recent weeks, North Korea had called the joint military operations of the United States and South Korea "a serious security crisis". 

In October last year, Pyongyang held a parade in which it showed off its military arsenal, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

Meanwhile, trade between North Korea and China over the past year has dropped 82%, South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young reported. The causes are the prolonged border closures due to the pandemic. Pyongyang is focused on domestic challenges, the minister added: "As the import of grain and other basic necessities has dropped sharply due to the decrease in trade between North Korea and China, [Pyongyang] faces continued instability in the supply and demand for food and medicine." 

The North Korean regime is also building a border quarantine facility to encourage imports from abroad. Although it claimed to have no recorded cases of Covid-19, once the global health emergency broke out, Kim Jong-un's regime imposed strict border controls and travel restrictions.

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• china
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• military parade
• pandemic
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• seoul
• pyongyang
• beijing