North Korea celebrated its founding with a military parade featuring dump trucks modified to work as rocket launchers

Charles R. Davis
·3 min read
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view from back of rocket launchers pulled by tractors
This photo provided Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, by the North Korean government shows the paramilitary parade, marking North Korea’s 75th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea.Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

  • North Korea celebrated its founding with a military parade featuring tractors and dump trucks.

  • The 75th anniversary was attended by delegations from China and Russia.

  • The parade emphasized the country's militia units and readiness for war.

North Korea celebrated its founding early Saturday in the capital with a military parade that included tractors pulling rocket launchers in front of visiting delegations from China and Russia, the Associated Press reported.

The event, held in the capital of Pyongyang, marked 75 years since the country was founded under then-Premier Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un.

The parade emphasized the "militia" components of North Korea's military in an attempt to demonstrate the country's ability to beat back a foreign invasion.

overhead shot of square featuring soldiers in colored uniforms forming the North Korean flag, while in foreground there are red box trucks with missiles emerging from their beds
This photo provided Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, by the North Korean government shows the paramilitary parade, marking North Korea’s 75th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea.Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

The parade came a day after North Korea showed off what it claimed was its first "tactical nuclear attack submarine," which — if true — would increase the country's ability to threaten nuclear war against distant foes. At the very least, experts said, it demonstrates Kim's commitment to expanding the reach of North Korea's nuclear program.

The weapons paraded on Saturday were more humble. Photos released by North Korean state media show rows of tractors towing what appear to be rocket launchers.

overhead shot of 9 blue tractors pulling rocket launchers before stadium packed with people
This photo provided Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, by the North Korean government shows tractors towing weapons during the paramilitary parade ceremony marking North Korea’s 75th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea.Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

The parade also featured red dump trucks that were modified to hide missile launchers, an effort to signal "the militia's role as guerilla fighters in a war," according to Reuters.

No nuclear-capable weapons or intercontinental ballistic missiles appeared to be on display, in contrast with a July parade marking North Korea's "victory" in the 1950-53 war that cemented the division of the peninsula.

red truck in foreground features four people in gray suits and yellow helmets emerging from back, alongside missile launchers. more such trucks surround it, with crowds in match pink dress standing in distance
This photo provided Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, by the North Korean government shows the paramilitary parade, marking North Korea’s 75th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea.Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

North Korea also showed off its paramilitary might during its 2021 anniversary. The country's Worker-Peasant Red Guards are believed to have more than 5 million members, The Korea Herald reported, citing a South Korean government estimate. That compares to about 1.3 million people in the North Korean army.

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