Holding hands with top Chinese official, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un tells the world that Beijing stands by his side
North Korea appears to create a friendly mood with China in massive military parade
He was the only foreign dignitary of any significance at the event - and it showed.
While a stream of goose-stepping soldiers, columns of tanks, a range of missiles and other armaments passed through Kim Il Sung Square in the heart of Pyongyang for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un frequently smiled and talked to Liu Yunshan, the Chinese Communist Party's fifth-ranked leader.
At the end of the event, Kim and Liu, the highest-ranking official of China in four years to be in Pyongyang, held hands as they waved to the crowd that began chanting the North Korean leader's name.
But when it came to North Korea's relations with the United States, Kim, presumed to be 32 years old, was confrontational.
“Our party today can forthrightly declare that our revolutionary forces are ready to respond to any kind of war U.S. imperialists want and fully prepared to strongly defend our people and the blue sky of our motherland,” Kim, flanked by Liu and senior North Korean officials, said.