North Korean military parade marks 55th anniversary of ruling party

One million people added color to the anniversary parade in Pyongyang on Tuesday

In this story: No mention of dissidents Tension between two Koreas eased RELATED STORIES, SITES

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea marked the 55th anniversary of the founding of its ruling communist party Tuesday with a military parade and a mass demonstration by civilians, the country's media reported.

Leader Kim Jong Il reviewed the parade by "columns of military academies, columns of units of three services of the Korean People's Army ...," said the North's foreign news outlet, KCNA.

The military parade was followed by a mass demonstration by civilians, it said.

The report gave no further details, including the number of soldiers and civilians who took part in the parade and demonstration and whether missiles and other weapons were mobilized.

No mention of dissidents

VIDEO Watch highlights of the parade Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     RESOURCES CNN Specials: Korea at 50     ALSO Meeting between North Korean envoy, Clinton seen as hopeful     MESSAGE BOARD North and South Korea     GALLERY North Korea's 55th anniversary

The report gave no mention, either, of 42 South Korean civic and dissident leaders who traveled to the North on Monday to take part in the anniversary celebrations.

North Korean television footage seen in South Korea showed column after column of people, dressed in brightly colored Korean costumes, carrying flower baskets in front of a giant statue of the country's late founding leader, Kim Il Sung.

Kim Il Sung died of heart failure in 1994 at age 82. His son, Kim Jong Il, officially took over power in 1998 after marking a four-year mourning period.

North Korea's 1.1 million-member military is the world's fifth largest and serves as the backbone of the Stalinist country's political system. In a nation of 22 million, the North's military reportedly consumes a quarter of the country's annual wealth.

On the eve of the anniversary, thousands of people turned out at a plaza in the center of the North's capital, Pyongyang, and danced around holding hands with each other, KCNA said.

Tension between two Koreas eased

South Korean officials believed that North Korea must have scaled back the military parade but had no details.

In order not to hurt thawing relations with the North, South Korea canceled or scaled back military parades and other programs that marked the 50th anniversary of the 1950 outbreak of the Korean War in June.

Cold War tensions between the two Koreas have eased significantly since their leaders met for the first time in June and agreed to work together toward reconciliation and unification.

The Korean Peninsula was divided into the communist North and the pro-Western South in 1945. They fought a three-year war in the early 1950s.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY
North Korea: Politics and Government
North Korea
South Korea : Government

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