North Korea showcases friends and arms


North Korea marked the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement with a late-night military parade on Thursday (27 July).

It was an intriguing evening for a couple of reasons. First, the parade’s audience included foreign dignitaries for the first time since 2018:

  • 🇨🇳 China sent Li Hongzhong from the Communist Party’s 24-member Politburo, as Beijing’s first visitor to Pyongyang since COVID, and
  • 🇷🇺 Russia sent Defence Minister Shoigu, the first ever such visit from present-day Russia (Soviet defence chiefs visited previously).

Second, the parade and surrounding festivities featured:

But it’s really the combo of the audience and content that turned heads: China and Russia are both permanent members of the UN Security Council, which has banned North Korean nuclear-capable ballistic missiles since 2006.

And yet here were senior reps from Beijing and Moscow, in downtown Pyongyang, applauding as nuclear-capable ballistic missiles rolled on by.

Intrigue’s take: This is less about North Korea coming out of isolation, and more about Russia going further in. Moscow needs more ammo for its invasion of Ukraine, and Pyongyang seems one of the few willing sellers.

As for China, Li is less senior than Beijing’s last parade rep in 2018, and these reps have applauded North Korean ICBMs before. So sending Li was probably just a low-cost way for Beijing to signal support for its only formal ally, while signalling displeasure regarding US actions in the region.

And North Korea? It gets tacit Chinese and Russian endorsement of its weapons program, plus a dash of solidarity in its struggle with the West, both of which Kim Jong Un will leverage to boost his legitimacy at home.

Also worth noting:

  • In North Korea, the Korean War (triggered by a Northern attack on the South) is known as the Fatherland Liberation War. In South Korea, it’s often the 625 War, reflecting the start date of 25 June. In China, it’s known as the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
  • Russia and China held joint ‘Northern/Interaction-2023’ military drills in waters off the Korean Peninsula earlier this month. The US and South Korea held their largest ever live-fire exercises in May.
Latest Author Articles
Labubu, geopolitics and culture

It’s time to take a quick break from all the trade wars and actual wars, and go back in time to pitch you a few quirky business ideas. But they all lean into culture, so bring your thick-rimmed glasses, turtle-neck, and beret, okay? As for the first pitch, we’re taking you to… Hear us out. […]

30 June, 2025
Did Trump make the right call?

With the US now hitting Iran directly for the first time, we’re all left with two big questions. Backers argue the ayatollah runs a fascist, expansionist regime openly calling for Israel’s destruction and sponsoring like-minded terrorist groups, all while stringing a naïve world along with talks, yet still stockpiling uranium enriched to 60% (way beyond […]

23 June, 2025
The Israel-Iran War: 6 lessons so far

Things have only escalated since Friday’s war briefing, with… So as these two old foes continue to trade blows and casualties, we’ve reflected on the six different lessons the world might now be learning: The ayatollah has spent decades dropping brash military diss tracks, only to get pantsed by Israel in a single night via […]

16 June, 2025
Why Uganda is having a meltdown over Germany’s ambassador

Uganda’s military announced on Sunday it’s cutting all ties with Germany! Why? Now, that is an incredibly spicy allegation to make against a foreign ambassador. In fact, we’d go so far as to liken it to the Merciless Pepper of Quetzlzacatenango. So what exactly did ol’ Mathias get up to? Well, the generals won’t say, though the head of the armed forces […]

27 May, 2025