North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a rare military parade in the early hours of Thursday — the first since U.S. President Joe Biden took office — with the event likely intended for a domestic audience rather than as a show of force.
Kim, wearing a gray suit and looking noticeably thinner, was seen in Pyongyang watching the parade marking the 73rd anniversary of the country’s founding in pictures released by state media. However, the North Korean leader did not deliver a speech and it appeared that no new strategic weapons had been unveiled, adhering to past precedent for most foundation anniversaries.
Instead, the parade in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square was led mainly by paramilitary and public security forces, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.