LONDON – Kim Jong Un reviewed a troop parade at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace Thursday to mark the 81st birthday of the Korean People’s Army (KPA).

The event was attended by several military heavyweights that included senior figures from the Korean Worker’s Party and North Korea’s powerful Military Defence Commission. Although commanders used the event to underscore their resolve for nuclear conflict, no major military hardware was paraded at the event.

North Korea watcher Leonid Petrov told NK NEWS that Pyongyang refrained from presenting a showcase of its military hardware to ease tensions with Washington and Seoul. “In anticipation of a resumption of