North's military personnel seen at airport, suggests parade preparations underway: RFA

North Korea has held a series of events marking the upcoming founding anniversary of the country’s ruling party, revving up a festive mood ahead of this week’s celebration, state media reported on Friday.

The General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea and the Socialist Women’s Union of Korea held separate concerts on Thursday in celebration of the 81st anniversary of the Workers’ Party, which falls on Saturday this year, according to the Rodong Sinmun, one of the North’s most widely read newspapers.

China’s Ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun also delivered a flower basket to the ruling party on behalf of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on Thursday to mark the anniversary, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

A separate flower basket from the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang was also delivered alongside those from other foreign missions in the country, including Vietnam, Iran and Cuba.

The U.S.-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that preparations for a possible celebratory event for the anniversary appear to be underway at Mirim Airport in Pyongyang, citing satellite imagery taken on Wednesday.

According to the RFA, military personnel and vehicles were spotted at three locations at the site, though the scale was smaller than previous preparations for military parades.

A South Korean government official said that signs of personnel and equipment have been spotted but noted the need to wait and see whether a military parade actually takes place.

North Korea considers anniversaries ending in zero or five to be milestone years and has traditionally marked them with large-scale military parades, mass gymnastics displays and weapons exhibitions.

Last year, it staged a massive late-night military parade at Kim Il Sung Square, unveiling the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile.

Yonhap