North Korea celebrated on Sunday the 70th anniversary of the founding of the state under the leadership of Kim Jong Un's grandfather, Kim Il Sung. While last year's obligatory military parade highlighted the Hermit Kingdom's Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), 2018's spectacle seemed to lack this key display, which hinted political analysts as NoKor's gesture of turning down the heat on the issue of nuclearization in the Korean Peninsula.
According to a report from the CNN, North Korea's current National Day celebration over the weekend was somewhat different as compared from the past holidays as it only saw a relatively smaller size of the country's military might paraded on the streets of Pyongyang.
What's even more intriguing that day was the absence of the aforementioned ballistic missiles. These nuclear weapons are touted to be capable of reaching the United States should the Korean nation decides to press the button.
The occasion meanwhile ended with the Mass Games, the first in five years, where an estimated 100,000 performers were seen performing in a highly-choreographed presentation which conveyed the message of socialism prevalent in North Korea.
The Games which sought to glorify the might and affluence of the upper Korean country also refrained from mentioning its nuclear weapons programs, a move which experts believed as Kim's gesture of friendliness to US President Donald Trump.
White House Responded
In response, the POTUS went over to his social media to post a thank you note to his Korean counterpart saying that Kim's decision to forego the ICBMs and nuke weapons during its celebration served as a positive statement from North Korea, a report from Reuters indicated.
Furthermore, Trump said that this is a sign that NoKor is keen on seeing to fulfill its commitment to denuclearize, citing Fox News reporting of the event.
In what is supposed to be a spat to his predecessor, former Pres. Barack Obama, Trump went on to credit his administration's efforts to establish a dialogue with the Korean Supreme Leader - a feat that has never been done before his time in the Oval Office.
Meanwhile, a report from the South China Morning Post said that Chinese parliament chief Li Zhanshu was at Pyongyang for the occasion. In his statement given to Li's envoy, Kim said that North Korea is now more than focused on implementing economic development in the country and that it hopes to learn from Beijing in this regard.
Kim also told Li that it will uphold its side of the agreement signed with the US president in the historic June summit in Singapore regarding the denuclearization in Korean Peninsula.
