Preparations for what is expected to be a major upcoming military parade in Pyongyang appear to have stepped up in recent days, according to sources in the North Korean capital and analysis of satellite imagery. 

The new developments come in the form of fresh maintenance at the now-closed-off Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang where the parade is set to take place, as well as the expansion of activity at a replica of the square across town where parade training occurs.

The parade and its date have yet to be officially announced, but October 10, when the country will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the ruling Workers’ Party (WPK), is a strong candidate for the current preparations.

Given the unusually early start to the process for that date, the upcoming parade could be set to be larger than in years past, or the event could be planned for an earlier date, possibly in summer.

NK Pro was first to report on training in January at the Mirim parade practice grounds across the city in southeast Pyongyang for what appeared to be an imminent, yet ultimately canceled, event.

This was followed by the restarting of training and installation of a “tent city” on the grounds, indicating a large military parade is in the works.

Central square closed

On the day of the event, soldiers and civilians are expected to fill the square and parade down the main street — along with military vehicles, missiles, and potentially the DPRK’s “new strategic weapon” — past leader Kim Jong Un and top officials seated in the grandstands.

Renovations on both Kim Il Sung Square and the grandstands located in front of the Grand People’s Study House, however, appear to have started this week, perhaps specifically for the upcoming military parade.

Three sources who were near the square this week told NK Pro that, as of at least Wednesday, it had been closed off. 

Two of the sources elaborated that some sort of maintenance or renovation of the square is underway.

Satellite imagery confirms those claims, with daily medium-resolution images provided by Planet Labs showing new changes on the ground of the large central square between May 2 and 3, and again between May 4 and 6.

The new work on the grandstands also began between May 4 and 6, according to the imagery, though the extent or objective of the work in both areas is not yet clear. 

NK Pro has also seen other, more minor changes to the square in the last year such as re-bricking of sidewalks, though the latest developments appear to be larger in scale.

Such changes on the grounds of the square or in the grandstands have not been recorded in daily imagery ahead of the past three military parades dating back to early 2017.

Parade training compound

Across town at the Mirim parade training grounds, preparations have taken a slightly different course this year when compared to past events.

The first sign of either a new process or plans for a larger parade is what appears to be the replacement of a heliport runway on the east side of the compound with a road expanding from the replica Kim Il Sung Square.

Just to the south, where temporary shelters are typically installed to cover military equipment and vehicles used in the parade, work is also underway on a larger area than usual to either construct a greater number of shelters, soldier tents, or even more permanent structures.

The work in this area began between April 24 and 28, according to Planet imagery, while the latest expansion in the heliport area occurred between May 3 and 6.

Ahead of military parades in February and September 2018 and April 2017, the temporary equipment shelters were constructed around nine to 11 weeks ahead of the scheduled parade date.

Depending on the planned size of the next military parade, soldier formation training like the kind seen in late January this year is expected to reappear anywhere from two to five weeks ahead of the event, according to prior schedules.

Only small groups of such marching practice has been seen at Mirim since mid-March, continuing at this level in recent weeks.

Other preparations are expected in Pyongyang in the run up to the next big parade as well, such as potentially more reinforcing of roads and bridges, another phenomenon witnessed by a source in the DPRK capital in January.

Public practices for accompanying events such as a night-time torch march — which in 2018 saw young children practicing past midnight and sleeping in Kim Il Sung Square — have yet to be seen, though COVID-19 measures still in place may also affect these plans.

Chad O’Carroll contributed reporting

Edited by Oliver Hotham