(LEAD) N. Korea marks 73rd armistice anniversary with ceremonial parade

Go to Contents Go to Navigation Facebook X More Pinterest Linked in Tumblr Reddit Facebook Messenger Copy URL URL is copied. OK (ATTN: ADDS photo, more details in para 8, last 4 paras; TRIMS) SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has held a commemorative parade to mark the 73rd anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, involving columns symbolic of units fought in the war, state media reported Tuesday. Leader Kim Jong-un attended the event the previous day, flanked by senior party, government and military officials, along with war veterans, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Diplomats from China and Russia stationed in Pyongyang were also present. The armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, halting the war. North Korea has observed the date as Victory Day since 1996, claiming it won the war against U.

S.-led forces. A ceremonial parade by soldiers takes place in Pyongyang on July 27, 2026, to mark the 73rd anniversary of the 1950-53 Korean War armistice that fell the same day, with the North's leader Kim Jong-un attending, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day.

(For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) The parade featured formations reenacting North Korean military units from the war, according to the report, followed by marching units representing the country's modern ground, naval and air forces. Kim "extended warm militant encouragement to the invincible elite ranks and representatives of the matchless army who newly defined the concept of the strong army and the law of victory, and placed the absolute might of the revolutionary armed forces at the peak of honour with loyalty to the Party and the country, ardent patriotism, mass heroism and indomitable fighting spirit peculiar to the army," the report said.

North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang-chol delivered a speech, saying the military would continue leading the country into what he described as an unprecedented era of national strength. Monday's ceremony, according to the KCNA, reflected the younger generation's resolve to add new "great victories" to the "immortal feats of the victorious wartime generation" and to "usher in the era of building a prosperous power unprecedented in history." North Korean soldiers march during a ceremonial parade in Pyongyang on July 27, 2026, to mark the 73rd anniversary of the 1950-53 Korean War armistice that fell the same day, with the North's leader Kim Jong-un attending, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day.

North Korea refers to the three-year conflict as the Great Fatherland Liberation War and designates the date of the armistice signing as Victory Day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) A separate dispatch reported on a commemorative gala Kim attended, where performers honored the wartime role of the Chinese People's Volunteers, the Chinese military forces that fought alongside North Korea during the Korean War, through film and song.

Photos released by the KNCA showed his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and daughter, Kim Ju-ae, with him. The report said the audience was "deeply touched" by footage depicting the sacrifice of the Chinese soldiers. The North Korea-China "friendship based on the shared ideal and militant fraternity will be immortal along with the history of the great war victory," the report said, using the occasion to underscore the deepening ties between Pyongyang and Beijing.

It cast the soldiers' sacrifice as the foundation for that friendship. Kim Ju-ae, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter, greets a war veteran at a commemorative gala in Pyongyang marking the 73rd anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, on July 27, 2026, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency the next day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea.

No Redistribution) (Yonhap) A unification ministry official said it marked the first time that Kim's daughter had appeared at Victory Day events, in a sign considered Pyongyang's wish to pass its friendship with China down to the next generation. Kim Ju-ae also accompanied her father on visits Sunday to national cemeteries where fallen soldiers are buried. The official also pointed to other signs of the North's push to showcase closer ties with China through wartime footage and songs honoring Chinese support, and Kim's visit to a cemetery holding the remains of 134 Chinese soldiers.

"The parade carries weight, coming amid deepening strategic ties since Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping held summit talks in June," the official said. North Korea holds an art performance in Pyongyang on July 27, 2026, to mark the 73rd anniversary of the 1950-53 Korean War armistice that fell the same day, with the North's leader Kim Jong-un attending with his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and his daughter, Ju-ae, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next