Thousands of civilians spelled out the slogan “Ninth Party Congress” (당제9차대회) in large characters in central Pyongyang on Wednesday, satellite imagery shows, the strongest evidence yet that North Korea will hold a large-scale military parade for the upcoming event.

The latest development at Kim Il Sung Square, visible in Planet Labs high-resolution imagery, suggests the military parade is not scheduled to celebrate next Monday’s holiday marking the 84th birthday of dead former leader Kim Jong Il. 

NK Pro previously reported that over 12,500 soldiers have been conducting full-scale marching practices for the event at a base across town. This indicated the parade will be similar in size to the one that took place two days after the conclusion of an eight-day-long Party Congress in Jan. 2021, but smaller than last October’s event. 

It will likely feature a range of weaponry like nuclear missiles, tanks and drone launchers, reflecting arms development goals decided during the congress.

State media has not announced an opening date for the congress, only saying it will begin in the last third of February. If it starts in the early part of that period, the parade could take place at the very end of February or the first days of March, though it’s also unclear how long the congress will last this time.

The slogan in Wednesday’s satellite image appeared in red, likely from colored pom-poms held up by participants. There was an empty space around the characters and a notch cut out at the front of the square for the band area.

This indicates the formation is intended for display in a military parade from the end of the troop marching to the weapons procession, according to NK Pro analysis of past events. 

It does not appear related to other events that typically feature large slogans in the square: Youth torch marches don’t feature space for a band or orchestra, while slogans in float parades are part of crowds that fill the entire square with no empty space around characters.

Meanwhile, fireworks barges have been installed across the Taedong River between Kim Il Sung Square and the Juche Tower in the last week, another sign of an approaching military parade.

SKYSCRAPER PROJECT CEREMONY IN COMING DAYS

Wednesday’s high-resolution satellite image also revealed more signs of an impending ceremony to officially conclude Kim Jong Un’s 50,000-home skyscraper project in Pyongyang, which he will likely attend in the coming days. 

The image shows a stage and large screens have been installed at the roundabout across from the Pyongyang Zoo where new towers under both the Hwasong Area and Saebyol Street projects were built in the last year.

A sprawling construction worker camp used during the last year of construction was also completely cleared and a new camp set up next to the zoo, indicating a groundbreaking ceremony for the next stage of capital housing construction in the same area is imminent as well.

Edited by Bryan Betts