SEOUL: The gargantuan new missile North Korea put on show at a military parade is an explicit threat to US defences and an implicit challenge to both the current and next American president, analysts say, warning Pyongyang could test the weapon next year.
Leader Kim Jong Un watched the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) roll through Kim Il Sung square – named after his grandfather – in Pyongyang at the climax of an unprecedented night-time parade on Saturday (Oct 10).
A consensus rapidly emerged among analysts that it was the largest road-mobile, liquid-fuelled missile anywhere in the world, and was highly likely to be designed to carry multiple warheads in independent re-entry vehicles (MIRVs).
Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies said it was "clearly aimed at overwhelming the US missile defence system in Alaska".
It was "much cheaper for North Korea to add warheads than for the US to add interceptors", he added on Twitter.
If the ICBM carried three or four warheads, he explained, the US would need to spend around US$1 billion on 12 to 16 interceptors for each missile.
"At that cost, I am pretty sure North Korea can add warheads faster than we can add interceptors."
The missile was estimated at 24m long and 2.5m in diameter, which specialist Markus Schiller said was big enough to carry 100 tonnes of fuel, which would take hours to load.
It was so big and heavy that it was practically unusable, he added: "You can't move this thing fuelled, and you can't fill it at the launch site.
"This thing makes absolutely no sense at all, except for threat equation games, like sending the message of 'we now have a mobile ICBM with MIRVs, be very afraid'."
Kim Jong Un watched the missile roll through Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang at the climax of an unprecedented night-time parade on Saturday AFP/-
North Korea watchers regularly caution that the devices Pyongyang puts on show at its parades may be mock-ups or models, and there is no proof they work until they are tested.
But the missile was carried on an enormous and previously unseen 11-axle transporter-erector-launcher, far larger than the eight-axle Chinese-made vehicles the North has employed so far.
"The truck may be a scarier story than the missile," said Melissa Hanham of the Open Nuclear Network.
"If the DPRK is indigenously producing their own chassis, then there is less of a constraint on the number of ICBMs they can launch."
Shortly before being inaugurated in 2017, Donald Trump tweeted that North Korea developing a weapon capable of reaching parts of the US "won't happen".
He spent the first year of his presidency – which saw the North launch an ICBM with the range to do exactly that – in an escalating war of words with Kim before an extraordinary diplomatic bromance developed between them.
Nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been deadlocked since the collapse of their Hanoi summit early last year AFP/-
But nuclear negotiations have been deadlocked since the collapse of their Hanoi summit early last year over sanctions relief and what the North would be willing to give up in return.
The ICBM was proof that the North had continued to develop its arsenal throughout the diplomatic process, analysts said, and gave Pyongyang greater heft to demand a return to the negotiating table.
"Like it or not North Korea is a nuclear power and is probably the third nuclear power which is capable of striking American cities, third after Russia and China," Andrei Lankov of Korea Risk Group told AFP.
Kim was sending the US a message that the North's capabilities were improving and that "if you don't want to make a deal now, sometime later you will have to make a deal which will be worse for you, the international community", he added.
North Korea watchers regularly caution that the devices Pyongyang puts on show at its parades may be mock-ups or models AFP/-
The spectacle was aimed at the next administration, whoever headed it following next month's presidential election, said Suzanne DiMaggio of the Carnegie Endowment.
"Kim relayed – and demonstrated – that North Korea's nuclear deterrent is at its strongest," she said. "His key messages: There isn't a viable military option against us. Deal with us on this basis."
More than 12 hours after the end of the parade broadcast on North Korean state television Trump had not yet tweeted about it – and nor had his Democratic rival Joe Biden.
Trump has made much of Kim's promise not to carry out any further ICBM or nuclear tests, and Shin Beom-chul of the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy said that by displaying the missile rather than launching it, Pyongyang had stopped short of crossing his red lines.
"But it also signals that North Korea could carry out a launch if Trump is re-elected and ignores the North Korean issue," he told AFP, adding: "If Biden is elected and he doesn't listen to North Korea, it will carry out a launch."
SEOUL: The gargantuan new missile North Korea put on show at a military parade is an explicit threat to US defences and an implicit challenge to both the current and next American president, analysts say, warning Pyongyang could test the weapon next year.
Leader Kim Jong Un watched the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) roll through Kim Il Sung square – named after his grandfather – in Pyongyang at the climax of an unprecedented night-time parade on Saturday (Oct 10).
A consensus rapidly emerged among analysts that it was the largest road-mobile, liquid-fuelled missile anywhere in the world, and was highly likely to be designed to carry multiple warheads in independent re-entry vehicles (MIRVs).
Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies said it was "clearly aimed at overwhelming the US missile defence system in Alaska".
It was "much cheaper for North Korea to add warheads than for the US to add interceptors", he added on Twitter.
If the ICBM carried three or four warheads, he explained, the US would need to spend around US$1 billion on 12 to 16 interceptors for each missile.
"At that cost, I am pretty sure North Korea can add warheads faster than we can add interceptors."
The missile was estimated at 24m long and 2.5m in diameter, which specialist Markus Schiller said was big enough to carry 100 tonnes of fuel, which would take hours to load.
It was so big and heavy that it was practically unusable, he added: "You can't move this thing fuelled, and you can't fill it at the launch site.
"This thing makes absolutely no sense at all, except for threat equation games, like sending the message of 'we now have a mobile ICBM with MIRVs, be very afraid'."
Kim Jong Un watched the missile roll through Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang at the climax of an unprecedented night-time parade on Saturday AFP/-
North Korea watchers regularly caution that the devices Pyongyang puts on show at its parades may be mock-ups or models, and there is no proof they work until they are tested.
But the missile was carried on an enormous and previously unseen 11-axle transporter-erector-launcher, far larger than the eight-axle Chinese-made vehicles the North has employed so far.
"The truck may be a scarier story than the missile," said Melissa Hanham of the Open Nuclear Network.
"If the DPRK is indigenously producing their own chassis, then there is less of a constraint on the number of ICBMs they can launch."
Shortly before being inaugurated in 2017, Donald Trump tweeted that North Korea developing a weapon capable of reaching parts of the US "won't happen".
He spent the first year of his presidency – which saw the North launch an ICBM with the range to do exactly that – in an escalating war of words with Kim before an extraordinary diplomatic bromance developed between them.
Nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been deadlocked since the collapse of their Hanoi summit early last year AFP/-
But nuclear negotiations have been deadlocked since the collapse of their Hanoi summit early last year over sanctions relief and what the North would be willing to give up in return.
The ICBM was proof that the North had continued to develop its arsenal throughout the diplomatic process, analysts said, and gave Pyongyang greater heft to demand a return to the negotiating table.
The spectacle was aimed at the next administration, whoever headed it following next month's presidential election, said Suzanne DiMaggio of the Carnegie Endowment.
"Kim relayed – and demonstrated – that North Korea's nuclear deterrent is at its strongest," she said. "His key messages: There isn't a viable military option against us. Deal with us on this basis."
More than 12 hours after the end of the parade broadcast on North Korean state television Trump had not yet tweeted about it – and nor had his Democratic rival Joe Biden.
North Korea watchers regularly caution that the devices Pyongyang puts on show at its parades may be mock-ups or models AFP/-
Trump has made much of Kim's promise not to carry out any further ICBM or nuclear tests, and Shin Beom-chul of the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy said that by displaying the missile rather than launching it, Pyongyang had stopped short of crossing his red lines.
"But it also signals that North Korea could carry out a launch if Trump is re-elected and ignores the North Korean issue," he told AFP, adding: "If Biden is elected and he doesn't listen to North Korea, it will carry out a launch."
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s doctor said on Saturday (Oct 10) the president is no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus.
In a memo, Dr Sean Conley says Trump meets the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for safely discontinuing isolation and that by “currently recognised standards” he is no longer considered a transmission risk.
The memo follows Trump’s first public appearance since returning to the White House after being treated for the coronavirus. Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday afternoon on the South Lawn for a Trump address on his support for law enforcement from a White House balcony.
Trump took off a mask moments after he emerged on the balcony to address the crowd on the lawn below, his first step back onto the public stage with just more than three weeks to go until Election Day. He flouted, once more, the safety recommendations of his own government just days after acknowledging that he was on the brink of “bad things" from the virus and claiming that his bout with the illness brought him a better understanding of it.
His return was a brief one. With bandages visible on his hands, likely from an intravenous injection, Trump spoke for 18 minutes, far less than at his normal hour-plus rallies. He appeared healthy, if perhaps a little hoarse, as he delivered what was, for all intents and purposes, a short version of his campaign speech despite the executive mansion setting.
With two bandages on his hand, President Donald Trump gestures while speaking from the Blue Room Balcony of the White House to a crowd of supporters, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Though billed as an official event, Trump offered no policy proposals and instead delivered the usual attacks on Democrat Joe Biden while praising law enforcement to a crowd of several hundred, most of whom wore masks while few adhered to social distancing guidelines.
“I’m feeling great,” said Trump, who said he was thankful for their good wishes and prayers as he recovered. He then declared that the pandemic, which has killed more than 210,000 Americans, was “disappearing” even though he is still recovering from the virus.
Officials organised the crowd just steps from the Rose Garden, where exactly two weeks ago the president held another large gathering to formally announce his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. That event is now being eyed as a possible COVID-19 superspreader as more than two dozen people in attendance have contracted the virus.
President Donald Trump pumps his fist before speaking from the Blue Room Balcony of the White House to a crowd of supporters on Oct 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump had hoped to hold campaign rallies this weekend but settled for the White House event. But even as his health remained unclear, he planned to ramp up his travel with a rally in Florida on Monday, followed by trips to Pennsylvania and Iowa on subsequent days. It was not clear if Trump posed a risk to those he would fly with on Air Force One or encounter at the rally sites.
Before the speech, White House officials said they had no information to release on whether the president was tested for COVID-19, meaning he made his first public appearance without the White House verifying that he's no longer contagious.
Security was stepped up around the White House before the event, which was called a “peaceful protest for law & order” and predominantly attended by black and Latino supporters. Police and the Secret Service closed surrounding streets to vehicles and shut down Lafayette Square, the park near the White House that has long been a gathering place for public protest.
As questions linger about his health — and Democratic opponent Joe Biden steps up his own campaigning — Trump has more frequently called into radio and TV programmes to speak with conservative interviewers, hoping to make up for lost time with just over three weeks until Election Day and millions already voting.
Biden's campaign said he again tested negative on Saturday for COVID-19. Biden was potentially exposed to the coronavirus during his Sep 29 debate with Trump, who announced his positive diagnosis barely 48 hours after the debate.
The president had not been seen in public — other than in White House-produced videos — since his return five days ago from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he received experimental treatments for the coronavirus.
On Saturday, all attendees were required to bring masks or were provided with them, and were given temperature checks and asked to fill out a brief questionnaire. Some in the crowd removed their mask to listen to Trump.
Supporters of President Donald Trump rally at The Ellipse, before entering The White House, where Trump held an event on the South Lawn on Oct 10, 2020. (Photo: AP/Jose Luis Magana)
Trump's Monday event in Sanford, Florida, what he's described as a “BIG RALLY", was originally scheduled to be held on Oct 2, the day after he tested positive. Ahead of his Saturday event, Trump used Twitter to share news articles about problems with mail-in ballots in New Jersey, Ohio and Texas. Trump has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that universal mail-in voting is beset by widespread fraud.
Trump's return to public activity came as Dr Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, cautioned the White House again to avoid large-scale gatherings of people without masks.
He said of the Barrett event in an interview with The Associated Press, “I was not surprised to see a superspreader event given the circumstances." That means “crowded, congregate setting, not wearing masks. It is not surprising to see an outbreak", he said.
District of Columbia virus restrictions prohibit outdoor gatherings larger than 50 people, although that rule has not been strictly enforced. Masks are mandatory outdoors for most people, but the regulations do not apply on federal land, and the Trump White House has openly flouted them for months.
Confined to the White House as he recovers, Trump spent sizable chunks of the past few days making the rounds of friendly conservative media, calling in to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night and spending two hours live on air with radio host Rush Limbaugh on Friday in what his campaign billed as a “radio rally”.
Holding court on his reelection battle, his fight against the coronavirus and revived negotiations with Democrats to pass an economic stimulus bill, Trump made a direct appeal to his base of loyal supporters, whom he needs to turn out to the polls in droves.
In a Friday night interview on Fox's Tucker Carlson's show, Trump was asked if he has been retested for COVID-19. “I have been retested, and I haven’t even found out numbers or anything yet. But I've been retested, and I know I’m at either the bottom of the scale or free," he said.
White House officials, however, have declined to answer when Trump last tested negative for the virus before his diagnosis or release detailed information about lung scans taken while Trump was hospitalised.
Aides to the president insist that it is safe for Trump to return to his regular activities, including campaigning. CDC guidelines call for the infected to wait at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, Fauci noted in the AP interview. That onset for Trump was Oct 1, according to his doctors.
Conley added that Trump was showing no evidence of his illness progressing or adverse reactions to the aggressive course of therapy he has received.
While reports of reinfection in COVID-19 victims are rare, the CDC recommends that even people who recover from the disease continue to wear masks, stay distanced and follow other precautions. It was unclear if Trump, who has refused mask-wearing in most settings, would abide by that guidance as he resumes his campaign.
SAKON NAKHON, Thailand: At this time of year, the land across Thailand’s upper northeast is awash with green. The annual monsoon feeds and sustains these agriculture-driven provinces.
But despite first appearances, things are not right. Across dozens of sustainable agarwood plantations, trees are dying en masse. These are not regular trees, but some of the most valuable in the world.
For thousands of years, the fragrant resin known as oud that sometimes forms naturally inside wild aquilaria trees is highly prized. Referred to as “liquid gold”, the trees’ resin is distilled and used as one of the world’s most luxurious ingredients for perfume.
The essential oil, with a musky aroma, is one of the most expensive of its kind in the world - it varies in price based on purity, but can attract about US$200 per ml - due to the difficulty of harvesting it and its rarity. Other byproducts of agarwood are bakhoor and incense, long used in China, India and the Middle East.
In Sakon Nakhon, a province that flanks the border with neighbouring Laos, agarwood - also known as the wood of the gods - now appears to be a failing industry.
Thaowan Pha-inn remembers when the climate made agriculture much easier in Sakon Nakhon. (Photo: Jack Board)
Drought has bitten hard on one small aquilaria plantation, visited by CNA. Row after row of trees have been left brittle and parched, able to be simply pulled out of the ground and piled onto a heap by workers.
At another plantation nearby, damaging floodwaters have left similar results. A small cluster of trees, close to maturity, appear close to being ready for harvest; the rest are dead.
“The trees have been growing well over the last three or four years. But they have faced drought and flood. Previously the weather was okay. No drought. But in recent years, it’s worse. They have gradually died,” said Thaowan Pha-inn, a 60-year old plantation worker.
“Rain does not come in its season. The amount of water is not adequate. The groundwater is not sufficient,” he said.
The trees grow fast, but are sensitive to changes in their environment. Too much heat, dryness or water can stunt their growth or cause them to die. That is exactly what is now occurring right across northeastern Thailand, where climate change is starting to wreak havoc.
It is a strange phenomena to witness for workers like Thaowan, who have always depended on the rhythmic weather patterns of dry and wet.
“When I was child, the land was fertile. It rained in the rainy season. We could start rice farming in April. Rain was consistent. That’s the past. But these days I have no idea what is happening.”
Asia Plantation Capital has lost tens of millions of dollars after the mass failure of its agarwood operations. (Photo: Jack Board)
The owner and operator of these agarwood operations is Asia Plantation Capital (APC), which began expanding in northeastern Thailand from 2010. It purchased large swathes of land and converted them to growing aquilaria trees - it also grows the species in Sri Lanka, and more recently, in Malaysia.
The decision was based on a series of expert scientific surveys of the Isan region, taking into account the weather and local environment. But things have since changed.
“We did all the normal routine things like soil tests, rainfall checks and so on and so forth. It ticked all of the boxes but obviously as you can now see, several years hence, it has gone through the worst droughts in 40 years and followed then by horrendous flash floods as well,” APC CEO Steven Watts told CNA.
“We wouldn’t be going into an area where we didn’t think we could make money. Subsequently, we’re now learning other things,” he said.
Drought and excessive rain have combined to cripple these agarwood plantation. (Photo: Jack Board)
This part of Thailand is especially prone to the adverse impacts of climate change, where significant changes in rainfall and increasing temperatures are forecast for the years ahead.
It is already the region that experiences the most extreme temperatures in the country, and future rise will further jeopardise agricultural production, including rubber, cassava, rice and sugarcane.
“The northeast of Thailand, of course, is the most vulnerable area,” said Dr Seree Supratid, director of the Climate Change and Disaster Center at Rangsit University.
“The first reason is because they have not many reservoirs. The second one is that for most of the land, the quality of the soil is not as good as the middle parts (of Thailand).”
“In the northeast...they have the sabai sabai life. The comfortable life in the past cannot continue on in the future, with these climate extremes. It is a pity for them,” he added.
A rare patch of living agarwood trees in Sakon Nakhon, close to being ready for harvesting. (Photo: Jack Board)
For APC, the expected outcome, Watts admits, is that further investment in agarwood in northeastern Thailand is now over. The company directly recorded financial losses of US$36 million in 2019/20 and faces major delays in future profitability, putting under direct threat 90 of the company’s 130 Thai plantations that are in Sakon Nakhon.
The situation has put the livelihoods of some 500 seasonal plantation workers in peril. Already half of them are not currently being hired, Watts says.
Suphee Buphasiri has been working for APC since 2012, and has watched her efforts cultivating the agarwood amount to very little.
“I have income to sustain my family and send my children to school. When my income is decreased, the direct impact is that it doesn’t cover my household expenses,” she said.
“If we can’t plant trees, we don’t have a job. If the drought lasts for a long time, agricultural jobs will be less or will totally disappear.
“We have to suffer more. I teach my children that we must spend less. They understand.”
Suphee Buphasiri is worried about the future if these plantations cannot provide her work. (Photo: Jack Board)
If agarwood fails in plantations, it puts the entire species at greater risk of extinction.
In the wild, the trees are endangered due to illegal poaching. Given that only a small percentage of trees produce resin, and the whole tree needs to be cut down to check for it, populations across Southeast Asia have plummeted.
APC’s strategy is to protect the species, while also making a profit, through its plantations. Its inoculation process ensures that each individual tree produces resin, and harvesting takes place once the tree reaches maturity after seven or eight years.
Sustainability, adaptation and science are central company philosophies, but even using technology to mitigate climate change is proving problematic.
A plantation workers carries a dead aquilaria tree, ravaged by flash floods. (Photo: Jack Board)
“In the long-term, selective breeding of flood-resistant and drought-tolerant crop varieties is an option. However, since tropical tree life cycles are extremely long, such programs would require many generations to develop,” said Dr Kodi Isparan Kandasamy, a plant biotechnologist and special advisor to APC’s Scientific Advisory Board.
“It is almost impossible to anticipate the imminent and future impact of climate change, which makes adequate preparation problematic,” he added.
In the meantime, further investment is going into coconut, pineapple and papaya plantations, environmentally friendly species with multiple uses and a growing global demand. Species diversification is increasingly seen as a way of reducing risk and building local resilience.
Watts says the company is looking at alternative crops for Sakon Nakhon and is doing small-scale experiments with various cash crops to chart a path forward in the area, and ensure local workers are not abandoned.
Hundreds of seasonal plantation workers have lost their APC jobs due to the climate challenges in Thailand. (Photo: Jack Board)
“We’ve created those mini-economies and the employment that goes with it and the financial rewards that go with it, so we’re very keen to make sure we look after those people up there. Depending on what crops we end up going with, we’ll be hoping to re-employ those people,” he said.
“We’ve looked at contingency plans in terms of finance, extra funds, whatever we might need. We’re slightly crystal ball gazing because nobody knows what the next crisis may be in terms of the weather.”
Additional reporting by D Kanyakumarii and Thanit Nilayodhin.
SEOUL: North Korea showcased previously unseen intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) at an unprecedented predawn military parade on Saturday (Oct 10) that showcased the country's long-range missiles for the first time in two years.
Analysts said the missile, which was shown on a transporter vehicle with 11 axles, would be one of the largest road-mobile ICBMs in the world if it becomes operational.
Also displayed were the Hwasong-15, which is the longest-range missile ever tested by North Korea, and what appeared to be a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
Ahead of the parade, which was held to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers' Party, officials in South Korea and the United States said Kim Jong Un could use the event to unveil a new "strategic weapon" as promised earlier this year.
The parade featured North Korea's ballistic missiles for the first time since Kim began meeting with international leaders, including US President Donald Trump, in 2018.
"We will continue to build our national defence power and self-defensive war deterrence," Kim said, but vowed that the country's military power would not be used preemptively. He made no direct mention of the United States or the now-stalled denuclearisation talks.
State news agency KCNA said the authority and security of North Korea hinged on "the huge nuclear strategic forces" shown in the parade.
Kim blamed international sanctions, typhoons, and the coronavirus for preventing him from delivering on promises of economic progress.
"I am ashamed that I have never been able to repay you properly for your enormous trust," he said. "My efforts and devotion were not sufficient to bring our people out of difficult livelihoods."
In this image made from video broadcast by North Korea's KRT, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the military parade during a ceremony to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the country’s ruling party in Pyongyang. (Photo: KRT via AP)
The parade was highly choreographed, with thousands of troops marching in formation, displays of new conventional military equipment including tanks, and fighter jets launching flares and fireworks.
Chad O'Carroll, CEO of the Korea Risk Group, which monitors North Korea, said more new military hardware had been displayed at this event than at nearly any other previous parade.
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un addressed an unusual predawn military parade early on Saturday (Oct 10), praising the troops for working hard to respond to natural disasters and to prevent a coronavirus outbreak, state television reported.
The country marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers' Party with a raft of concerts and festivals, and the ceremony was seen around the region as an event where Kim could deliver messages to domestic and foreign audiences.
State television began broadcasting edited video of the event later on Saturday after a day of silence about the parade, which was held in Pyongyang's recently renovated Kim Il Sung Square.
Officials in Seoul and Washington had said the North might unveil new strategic weapons. Initial footage of the parade showed conventional troops marching in formation and what appeared to be ballistic missiles on vehicles.
People watch a television news broadcast of a military parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party held in Pyongyang, at a railway station in Seoul on Oct 10, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Jung Yeon-je)
The video showed Kim make an appearance as a clock struck midnight. Dressed in a grey suit and tie, he waved to the crowd and accepted flowers from children while surrounded by military officials wearing rows of medals.
Sometimes appearing emotional, Kim thanked the military for working hard to respond to natural disasters and to prevent a coronavirus outbreak.
North Korea has not reported any domestic infections, an assertion that South Korea and the United States have questioned.
Kim said he hopes that North and South Korea will join hands again after the coronavirus crisis is over.
While attendees at other holiday events were shown wearing masks, no one at the parade appeared to be wearing any masks.
CORONAVIRUS MEASURES
The event comes as the isolated country carries out strict measures against the coronavirus.
State media said the curbs have caused delays in some of Kim's key economic and construction projects, already dogged by international sanctions.
"It is an impressively large gathering during a global pandemic, suggesting North Korean authorities are concerned more with political history and national morale than with preventing a COVID-19 superspreader event," said Leif-Eric Easley, who teaches at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
Earlier in the day, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it spotted signs that a parade involving large-scale military equipment and personnel took place in Pyongyang but gave no further details.
"South Korea and U.S. intelligence authorities are closely monitoring developments," it said.
It was the first time that the parade has been held before dawn.
South Korean officials said this week that Kim could use the event as a "low intensity" show of power ahead of the US presidential election on Nov 3, as denuclearisation talks with Washington have stalled.
For weeks commercial satellite imagery has shown thousands of North Korean soldiers practicing marching, and South Korean officials have said the North could use the parade to unveil a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), or a new submarine-launched ballistic missile.
Foreign diplomats in Pyongyang have often been invited to observe past celebrations. But the Russian Embassy said on social media that all diplomatic missions have been advised this year to "refrain as much as possible" from travelling in the city, approaching the event venue and taking photos and videos.
The last time North Korea broadcast a military parade live on television was in 2017, when it showed off many large ICBMs amid heightened tension with the United States.
In a congratulatory message to Kim for the anniversary, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he intended to "defend, consolidate and develop" ties with North Korea, its state media said on Saturday.
