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North Korea likely to hold military parade to celebrate Workers' Party founding: JCS

Published: 10 Oct. 2025, 14:47

This photo, released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 10 shows an event at May Day Stadium in Pyongyang the previous day to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers Party of Korea. [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY]

South Korea’s military believes North Korea is likely to stage a large-scale nighttime military parade on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, according to a Yonhap report.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said North Korea appears to be rehearsing for the parade with equipment and missiles mobilized.

“We believe there is a high chance it will take place tonight,” a JCS official told reporters earlier on Friday, according to Yonhap.

Since the 75th anniversary parade in October 2020, North Korea has held all seven of its military parades at night.

The most recent one took place on Sept. 9, 2023, marking the 75th anniversary of the country’s founding. That event began on the evening of Sept. 8 and continued into the early hours of the next day.

The JCS official noted that “rain of about 1 millimeter [0.04 inches] per hour is forecast for late this afternoon in North Korea, but the parade should still be possible,” adding that weather conditions could affect the participation of air assets.

Earlier this month, the JCS said the South Korean military was closely monitoring North Korea’s preparations for a parade involving tens of thousands of participants.

“We are in a stage of keeping a close watch on the situation,” the JCS said at an Oct. 2 briefing.

The Rodong Sinmun reported on Oct. 10 that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam the previous day. North Korea welcomed Lam with a 21-gun salute, the state-run paper said. [RODONG SINMUN]

Multiple sources told Yonhap that tens of thousands of people have been observed rehearsing since early July.

Based on the number of participants and military equipment involved, the sources expect the parade to exceed the scale of the February 2023 event marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army, which was one of the largest in recent years.

Observers are also watching to see whether Pyongyang will unveil the Hwasong-20, a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) it recently revealed in state media. Weapons expected to appear in the parade are said to be covered with tarpaulins ahead of the event.

North Korea held an event comprising of performances and fireworks at May Day Stadium on Thursday, the eve of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party, as reported by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Leader Kim Jong-un met with high-ranking officials from China, Vietnam and Russia and pledged to turn the state into an "affluent" socialist "paradise" in his address, according to KCNA.

The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, reported on Sept. 9 that “a grand paramilitary parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Republic took place at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on Sept. 8. [NEWS1]

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]