January 31, 2018 13:43
The North Korean regime is making frantic preparations for a military parade in Pyongyang on the eve of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Thousands of unfortunates have been practicing a Soviet-style mass-choreographed card performance in Kim Il-sung Square for the parade on Feb. 8, Voice of America reported on Tuesday.
VOA published a satellite image of the plaza shot by Planet, an American private Earth imaging company, on Sunday morning that shows the center of the plaza a sea of red from the cards the masses are holding up.
Three straggler yellow letters loom up dimly among them.
The regime has staged a parade in the plaza on founder Kim Il-sung's birthday on April 15 every year and on army founding day every five years.
"It appears that at least 30,000 people took part in the practice on Sunday," a government source here said. "It's possible that more than 50,000 soldiers and civilians will be mobilized on Feb. 8."
Some 12,000 troops and some 200 pieces of military equipment are in waiting at Mirim Airport about 7 km east of the plaza.
South Korean military authorities expect that the regime will show off many missiles, especially its new intercontinental ballistic and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun reported that the North is going to invite South Korean military officers to the parade, but the Defense Ministry here denied getting an invitation.
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