North Korea will be staging a major military parade, huge rallies and reviving its iconic mass games on Sunday to mark its 70th anniversary as a nation. (Ng Han Guan/Associated Press)PYONGYANG, North Korea — Workers with paint brushes and brooms put the final touches on Pyongyang’s iconic Kim Il Sung Square on Saturday as North Korea prepared for what promises to be its biggest celebration in years — the 70th anniversary of the country’s official birth as a nation. Although North Korea stages military parades almost every year, and held one just before the Olympics began in South Korea in February this year, Sunday’s parade comes at a particularly sensitive time. This year’s celebrations also mark the revival of North Korea’s iconic mass games after a five-year hiatus. The mass games involve tens of thousands of people holding up placards or dancing in precise unison and are intended to be a display of national unity.

Source: Washington Post September 08, 2018 17:48 UTC