Trump salutes North Korean leader for marking its 70th anniversary with military parade without nuclear missiles
Pyongyang, September 10: Much to everyone’s surprise, North Korea had a twist and amazed everyone as it marked its 70th anniversary on Sunday. North Korea rolled out some of its latest tanks and marched its best-trained goose-stepping units through Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang in a major military parade. The country held back its most advanced missiles and devoted nearly half of the event to civilian efforts to build the domestic economy.
US President Donald Trump saluted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday for holding a massive military parade "without the customary display of nuclear missiles" to celebrate his country's 70th anniversary.
In his tweet, the US President said: "This is a big and very positive statement from North Korea. Thank you To Chairman Kim. We will both prove everyone wrong!" he said. The tweet included a quote that said experts believe the missiles were cut from the parade to show Trump North Korea's commitment to denuclearizing.
The two leaders met in June in Singapore, ending a tense months-long standoff over the North's missile and nuclear tests. The North Korean leader pledged to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, following Washington's demands for a "final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea." But the momentum lagged after the summit, and late last month Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abruptly canceled a scheduled trip to North Korea, citing a lack of progress on denuclearisation.
The strong emphasis on the economy underscores leader Kim Jong-un's new strategy of pushing economic development to the fore. Previous public parades have included nuclear missile launchers, but they did not feature during Sunday's celebration in Pyongyang which gave a clear sign that leader Kim Jong Un did not want to cause diplomatic provocation as negotiations continue.
The parade featured armored personnel carriers, multiple rocket launchers and tanks, and biplanes that flew overhead in a "70" formation. Finally came the missiles, the traditional climax of the parades. But the only ones on the show were the blue Kumsong-3, an anti-ship cruise missile, and the Pongae-5 surface-to-air weapon.