NORTH KOREA HOLDS MILITARY PARADE AFTER PARTY CONGRESS

North Korea staged a military parade in Pyongyang to celebrate the first congress of the ruling Workers' Party in nearly five years, state-run media broadcast Friday, Kyodo News reported in Tokyo.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said leader Kim Jong Un observed the parade and "the world's most powerful" weapons, such as a submarine-launched ballistic missile. The military parade was North Korea's first since October last year when it marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of the ruling party.

It came in the run-up to the Jan. 20 inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden, whose administration will determine the future course of negotiations on denuclearization between the two nations.

During the eight-day congress that ended Tuesday, Kim displayed a confrontational attitude toward the United States, describing Washington as Pyongyang's "foremost principal enemy," according to KCNA.

Kim also pledged to further strengthen North Korea's nuclear arsenal, saying, "The entity of the US and the real intention of its policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will never change, whoever comes into power in the US."

At the congress, meanwhile, Kim said, "Strong defense capabilities of the state never preclude diplomacy but serve as a great means that propels toward the correct orientation and guarantees its success."

He added: “A key to establishing a new relationship between the DPRK and the U.S. lies in the U.S. withdrawal of its hostile policy towards the DPRK," Kim added. On Sunday, Kim was elected general secretary of the ruling party, taking over the top post previously held by his late father, Kim Jong Il, the country's former leader.

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