Elderly veterans of the Korean War gathered in Pyongyang Tuesday night for the first-ever outdoor national veterans conference, complete with fireworks and a speech by Kim Jong Un in which the leader compared pandemic “hardships” to those of the war.

In his speech at the Seventh National Conference of War Veterans, the North Korean leader praised the veterans for helping hold back international forces led by the “U.S. imperialist monsters” during the 1950-53 war, according to the party-run outlet Rodong Sinmun.

He also said that “the difficulties brought on by today’s unprecedented worldwide health crisis and prolonged lockdown