North Korean soldiers conducted marching practice in Pyongyang on Wednesday despite the start of a five-day virus-related lockdown, suggesting that the leadership looks to push ahead with a military parade next month.

Planet Labs satellite imagery shows the soldiers training at a base in the capital early Wednesday, after authorities introduced the lockdown at midnight due to “rising” cases of respiratory illness.

Dozens of North Korean jets and other aircraft have also appeared to be training since earlier this month for the upcoming parade, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery, a sign the event will once again feature extensive formation flyovers.

The parade appears scheduled to take place on Feb. 8 to celebrate the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army (KPA), but it remains unclear if the lockdown or an apparent new virus outbreak will disrupt these plans. 

PARADE PRIORITY

Approximately 44 block formations of soldiers containing up to almost 13,000 individuals appeared to be marching outside at the Mirim military parade training ground in southeast Pyongyang Wednesday morning, Planet Labs imagery shows.

These two images taken 26 minutes apart Wednesday morning show thousands of soldiers in block formations changing position as they march outdoors at the Mirim base | Images: Planet Labs (left), Sentinel-2 (right), edited by NK Pro

The fact that the practice went ahead despite the lockdown points to an exemption for the parade preparations, which would be consistent with past practice: Authorities ordered construction, factory and agricultural workers to continue working last May despite a strict nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, citing the overriding importance of national economic goals.

The upcoming military parade is expected to heavily feature worship of Kim Jong Un and promotion of new weapons developments in an attempt to boost the national spirit amid chronic government failures to rein in economic hardships.

AIR FORCE ARRIVES

Meanwhile, over 30 aircraft began to appear between Jan. 11 and 12 parked on a taxiway between the Pyongyang International Airport’s north and south runways, in roughly the same position they appeared last April ahead of that month’s military parade.

The medium-resolution imagery appears to show 23 jets — likely aging MiG-29, MiG-23 and Su-25 models which appeared in the same spot last year — and at least 10 other aircraft shifting positions daily over the last two weeks as they likely conducted flight training. 

The high-resolution image on the left shows North Korean jets on the Pyongyang airport taxiway last April, while the medium-resolution image on the right shows evidence of their return to the same place this month, such as melted snow behind the jet engines | Images: Planet Labs, edited by NK Pro

North Korea started incorporating more aircraft flyovers into military parades starting in Oct. 2020, attaching colorful lightstrips to their wings to perform spectacles at the nighttime events. 

At a celebration for air force pilots last November, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un shrugged off concerns over his country’s aging fleet of aircraft, stating that air superiority is created “not by any cutting-edge fighter jets but by the pilots armed with indomitable spirit.”

North Korean media said the air force flew 150 aircraft during military exercises in October and more than 500 aircraft in drills the next month.

Edited by Bryan Betts