Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans gathered to mark the 110th birth anniversary of the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung. The celebration featured a parade in Pyongyang, though some observers noted the Armed Forces were conspicuously absent from the display. In a display of state power and national pride, Kim Jong-un, the current leader and grandson of Kim Il-sung, led the commemorations that began Friday in the capital. The city center, where a plaza bears the same name as the revered founder, hosted a sequence of fireworks and a large dance event that captivated attendees and observers alike.
A captioned image described the scene as a civil parade in Pyongyang. The march took place under the watch of state photographers, and the imagery underscored the regime’s emphasis on unity and celebration.
The holiday has been observed in prior commemorations of Kim Il-sung’s birth, notably during the centennial and the 105th anniversary, both marked with displays of military strength and public discipline. Following the parade, Kim Jong-un and Ri Sol-ju visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum that houses the preserved bodies of the country’s founding leaders and their political forebears. The site visit reinforced the family’s central role in the regime’s narrative and its continuity through the generations.
A caption attached to another photo noted that Kim Jong-un presided over the parade, highlighting the leadership’s direct involvement in orchestrating the event and presenting it to the public as a manifestation of national resilience.
Analysts and observers reported by Yonhap, the South Korean government-directed news agency, suggested that this year’s anniversary was marked amid ongoing discussions about North Korea’s broader military posture and recent ballistic tests conducted since the start of the year. Yet, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, Cha Duck-chul, acknowledged the possibility that Pyongyang might allocate a portion of its extensive public spectacle to the anniversary of the founding of the North Korean People’s Revolutionary Army, a biennial reminder of the armed forces’ historic importance within the state’s self-identity.