The presidential office said on the 11th that it is closely watching related developments regarding the military parade held in Pyongyang the previous night to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party.
That afternoon, the presidential office said, "The event marking the 80th anniversary of the party's founding is, fundamentally, an internal North Korean event," and issued this position.
The previous day, North Korea held a military parade at Kim Il Sung Square and unveiled new weapons, including the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and a hypersonic missile.
Through his parade speech, North Korean State Affairs Commission Chair Kim Jong Un said, "Our military must continue to evolve into an invincible entity that eliminates all threats that approach our defense rights with political-ideological and military-technical superiority that overwhelms the enemy," adding, "It must be constantly strengthened into an elite force that piles up the platform of victory with morality and discipline."
There was no direct mention of South Korea in the speech.
At the parade, on either side of Kim sat Chinese Premier Li Qiang, the No. 2 in China's power hierarchy, and To Lam, the general secretary of the Communist Party and the No. 1 in Vietnam's power hierarchy. Next to General Secretary Lam was Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia's Security Council and chair of the United Russia party, a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin.