‘Clown show’: North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong mocks Seoul military parade, downplays capabilities

SEOUL – North Korea’s Ms Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, criticised a military parade held in Seoul for its Armed Forces Day this week and called it a “clown show”, in a statement carried by state media KCNA on Oct 3.

She also downplayed South Korea’s military capabilities which was put on display, and slammed the fly-past of a US B-1B bomber during the Oct 1 parade.

“Who could talk about ‘end of regime’ by showing off what is such a uselessly bulky weapon,” Ms Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA, referring to South Korea’s display of its powerful new Hyunmoo-5 missile, capable of carrying a 7,300kg warhead.

Military officials have said the Oct 1 parade was partly intended to showcase South Korea’s military might as a deterrence to North Korea, which frequently stages parades featuring weapons such as intercontinental ballistic missiles.

In a speech ahead of the parade, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said the day Pyongyang uses nuclear weapons will be the end of its regime.

The Oct 1 parade at a Seoul airbase involved some 5,300 troops, 340 types of military equipment and aircraft fly-pasts. Another smaller-scale parade took place in downtown Seoul, drawing thousands of spectators. REUTERS