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| North Korean soldiers stand on a military
truck in a Pyongyang street in March. The army marked
its 70th anniversary on April 25. REUTERS/Guang
Niu |
North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il made a rare public appearance on Thursday
to mark army day and his defence chief told troops to deal
"merciless blows" if U.S. or other forces put so much as a toe
over the border.
North Korea has trumpeted the 70th anniversary of its
1.2-million-strong army as one of the most important festivals
to celebrate the achievements of state founder Kim Il-sung,
father of leader and supreme army commander Kim Jong-il.
As the climax to a 90-minute parade to mark the 70th
anniversary of the Korean People's Army (KPA), Kim walked
slowly along the raised dais, smiling and raising both hands
above his head to wave at tens of thousands of assembled
troops.
The huge crowd roared their approval, shouting: "May our
comrade General Kim Jong-il live 10,000 years."
"This is such a rare appearance and a great honour," said
one North Korean in the audience as thousands of colourful
balloons were let loose and drifted skyward and a 21-gun
salute boomed.
Kim Jong-il, dressed in a light brown Mao suit, did not
speak to the army, of which he became supreme commander in
1991.
"The rare wisdom, outstanding politico-military ability and
matchless grit of the supreme commander are the source of the
tremendous combat power of the KPA," the North's state news
agency said of Kim, who is not known to have served in the
army.
MERCILESS BLOWS"
Defence Minister Kim Il-chol opened the celebrations,
calling out to troops: "Let glory fall upon the Korean
People's Army."
He said Kim Jong-il had turned the country -- officially
known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) --
into "an impregnable fortress".
"If the U.S. imperialists and their followers invade the
inviolable land, sea and sky of the DPRK even 0.001 mm despite
its repeated warnings, the army and the people who hold the
dignity and sovereignty of the country and nation as dear as
their own lives will deal merciless blows at the invaders,"
the official KCNA news agency reported him as saying.
U.S. President George W. Bush enraged Pyongyang earlier
this year by branding it part of an "axis of evil" with Iraq
and Iran and criticising the North's human rights record.
But Bush said on a February visit to Seoul the United
States had no intention of invading.
There are 37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea, backing up the
600,000-strong South Korean military on the southern side of
the fortified Demilitarised Zone bisecting the peninsula.
Kim, 60, became chairman of the National Defence Commission
in 1993. That is still his official title, although he assumed
control of the state and ruling communist party three years
after his father died in 1994.
North Korea, which has the world's fifth-largest standing
army, has put renewed emphasis on its "military-first" policy.
Foreign relief workers helping North Korea stave off famine
say the army has first claim on the country's annual grain
harvest. U.N. food aid feeds about a third of North Koreans.
"ILLUSTRIOUS COMMANDER" KIM HAILED
Elite troops goose-stepped past the podium where Kim
Jong-il stood with many of North Korea's ruling elite and
foreign visitors, including special Russian envoy Konstantin
Pulikovsky.
At the head of the parade rolled a limousine carrying a
flag with a portrait of Kim Il-sung, who ruled North Korea
after the division of the peninsula following the 1950-53
Korean War until his death. Father and son are the focus of a
personality cult.
"Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong-il
is an illustrious commander born of heaven endowed with all
human intelligence and talents," said KCNA.
"The pluck and gut of standing unfazed before tens of
millions of formidable enemies is one of his dispositions," it
said.
Tens of thousands of soldiers raised their rifles upright
to salute the portrait as it passed as martial music played.
"This is a great ceremony that our entire country has
prepared," said the North Korean member of the audience.
Tens of thousands of civilians took part, marching into Kim
Il-sung Square carrying coloured squares of paper which they
held above their heads to form moving pictures.
Weaponry has not been displayed at the parades since 1992.
Thursday's military parade set the stage for a grand
celebration of "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung set to start on
Monday.
To try to give outsiders a rare glimpse into the hermit
nation, North Korea was hoping to attract unprecedented
numbers of foreign tourists to the April 29-June 29 "Arirang"
festival to raise badly needed hard currency.
The Arirang festival, which overlaps with the World Cup
soccer finals in South Korea and in Japan, marks the 90th
birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung and the 70th anniversary of
the KPA.
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