hankyoreh

By Kang Tae-ho, senior staff writer

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a military review for the country’s Worker-Peasant Red Army (WPRA) reserves on Sept. 9 at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang.

The event, which was organized for the 65th anniversary of the North Korean government’s formation, was broadcast live on Korean Central Television from 9:40 am to 1:50 pm. It was followed by a parade through the streets by hundreds of thousands of Pyongyang residents.

Kim did not give a speech, but Premier Pak Pong-ju appeared in WPRA uniform to deliver a congratulatory report.

“All members of the party [the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK)] and workers will need to continue sounding the cannonade of great innovation and a great leap forward in today’s full-scale attack to achieve a strong and prosperous socialist nation,” Pak declared.

Multi-stage rockets and other weaponry were briefly shown at the event, but no new weapons were brought out as they were during a Korean People’s Army review on Apr. 15 of last year.

North Korean held a WPRA review for the government’s 60th anniversary in 2008, and another in 2011, but congratulatory addresses at those events were given by then Chief of General Staff and Minister of the People’s Armed Forces Kim Yong-chun. Speeches by the Premier have been a rare occurrence.

Experts said the aim was to give a symbolic show of the country’s two-track approach of nuclear armament and economic development, which was decided on at a late March plenary session of the WPK central committee. It also appears to reflect a recent active push for dialogue, including talks with Seoul and improved relations with Washington.

The WPRA consists of around 5 million civilians, including workers, farmers, and discharged soldiers, and is known to be more strongly organized than the South Korean reserves. It was established in 1959 as the Worker-Peasant Red Guard and renamed as the Worker-Peasant Red Army at a review for the 65th anniversary of the WPK on Oct. 10, 2010.

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