10 September, 2017
North Korea turned 69 on Saturday, but their celebrations this year have been rather understated and without the bombastic shows of force that Pyongyang has become known for.
The global community is divided over what to do to North Korea, with Russian Federation and China advocating their joint proposal for the United States and South Korea to freeze their provocative wargames if North Korea puts its nuclear program on hold, while the USA and some of its allies want to implement tighter sanctions against North Korea and possibly even launch a military strike against it.
On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron called on the UN to "quickly react" to North Korea's nuclear tests and urged the European Union to come up with a "clear and united" response.
Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera suggested implementing stronger economic penalties to encourage North Korea to alter its behavior.
"If we put firm pressure on North Korea such that it realises it cannot develop missiles, it will accept dialogue and we can progress with diplomatic efforts", Onodera told public broadcaster NHK on Sunday.
Kim appeared at the banquet hall in the Mokran House, attended by other ranking military officials, and heaped praise on the attendees for "most proudly and realistically carrying out the tasks", the state mouthpiece said.
While in North Korea, which was marking the nation's founding anniversary Saturday, local media issued fresh calls for a nuclear arms buildup, in defiance of the mounting worldwide sanctions.
Last Sunday, Pyongyang said it conducted a hydrogen bomb test at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the country's northeast, which it claimed can fit on an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States.
"The recent test of the H-bomb is the great victory won by the Korean people at the cost of their blood while tightening their belts in the arduous period", the Guardian quoted Kim as saying.
Ri and Hong's roles have also been noted overseas, prompting the United Nations, the United States or South Korea to blacklist them.
But no weapons test was detected as of Saturday afternoon, as people in the capital Pyongyang went through customary practices of showing loyalty to the late founding leader Kim Il-sung, his late son Kim Jong-il and third-generation leader Kim Jong-un.
KCNA said service personnel and civilians, including children, laid floral baskets and bouquets at the statues of the deceased leaders across the country, while enjoying art performances and dancing parties.
