Thousands of North Koreans marched in anti-US mass rallies Sunday (June 25) in Pyongyang to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the Korean War, North Korean state media said.
More than 120,000 attendees pledge to bring "merciless" revenge against "U.S. imperialists'' at the capital's Mayday Stadium. While the event commemorated the North Korean surprise attack on its southern neighbor, the demonstrators promoted their government's version of events, accused the United States of provoking war, and left Koreans with "wounds...that can never be healed."
'U.S. Within Our Missiles' Range,' Pyongyang Rally Slogans Say
During the rally, North Koreans expressed pride in Kim's expanding nuclear weapons and missile programs, insisting their country has the "strongest absolute weapon to punish the U.S. imperialists and the war deterrence for self-defense which no enemy dare provoke."
Photos published by North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun showed the stadium filled with people in COVID-19 masks, raising their fists in the air, and holding signs reading "Let's eradicate U.S. imperialist invaders" and "The entire U.S. mainland is within our striking range."
The rallies came amid heightened tensions in the region, especially during North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology in its failed attempt to launch its first spy satellite in orbit, as well as the U.S. and South Korea's joint military exercises.
Since the start of 2022, North Korea has test-fired around 100 missiles of various ranges to display its dual ability to conduct nuclear strikes on both the U.S. and South Korea. The Hermit Kingdom has also been expediting efforts to launch its military reconnaissance satellite into orbit following a failed first attempt in May.
Recent military intelligence also showed troop and vehicle movements, as well as the building of structures for a rumored parade in Pyongyang on July 27, the anniversary of the Korean War armistice.
The military parade in February rolled out in a parade of what appeared to be a fleet of new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) that were used during its first flight test in April. If perfected, the weapon would give Kim a more mobile and harder-to-detect weapon to target the continental United States.
Fighting the North with Words
Meanwhile, Park Sang-hak, a North Korean defector-turned-activist in South Korea, said he flew balloons carrying some 200,000 anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets and COVID-19 medical supplies across the border Sunday night. The move was part of his long-running campaign that often triggered angry responses from the north.
Photos sent by Park showed a placard with a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a message about how his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, was responsible for starting the Korean War.
North Korea has not commented on Park's latest ballooning stint.
According to the South Korean foreign ministry, U.S. and South Korean nuclear envoys accused Pyongyang of distorting history by repeating old claims that the U.S. caused the Korean War.
In their latest telephone discussion over North Korea, Seoul's foreign ministry official Kim Gunn and Washington's special representative to Pyongyang, Sung Kim noted how the North Koreans were blaming the U.S. and its Asian allies for recent tensions triggered by its intensified weapons tests and verbal threats of nuclear conflict.
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