North Korea celebrates key anniversary with dance, fireworks; no word on military parade

North Korea celebrated the milestone birth anniversary of its late founder on Friday, but there was no report of an expected military parade amid heightened tensions over its nuclear programme.

North Korea on Friday celebrated the milestone birth anniversary of its late founder with a mass dance, fireworks and calls for stronger loyalty to his grandson and current leader Kim Jong Un, but there was no word on an expected military parade amid heightened tensions over its nuclear program.

The 110th birthday of Kim Il Sung comes after North Korea conducted a spate of weapons tests in recent months, including its first full-range intercontinental ballistic missile launch since 2017.

Experts say North Korea aims to expand its arsenal and ramp up pressure on the United States while nuclear diplomacy is stalled.

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“Let's work harder in devotion to our respected comrade Kim Jong Un and on that path ultimately realise the dreams of our great president (Kim Il Sung) to build a powerful socialist state,” the North's state-run website Uriminzokkiri said in a commentary.

Kim Il Sung's birthday is the most important national holiday in North Korea, where the Kim family has ruled under a strong personality cult since the nation's founding in 1948.

Kim Jong Un became a third-generation leader after his father Kim Jong Il died in late 2011.