Kim Jong-un, North Korea's chairperson of the State Affairs Commission, attended a Liberation Day commemorative event and watched a circus performance and swimming competitions.
The Korean Central News Agency reported on the 17th that the "81st anniversary of national liberation celebratory National Circus Troupe comprehensive circus performance" was held the previous day at the Pyongyang Circus Theater. The performance featured various events, including tightrope walking and aerial acrobatics.
Chairperson Kim Jong-un also attended a sports and culture event held the same day after the circus performance and watched various competitions. Kim Jong-un was accompanied at the games by his daughter Ju-ae and wife Ri Sol-ju. In photos released by North Korean state media, Ju-ae sat in the center of the VIP section, immediately next to Kim, to watch the performance.
North Korean outlets refer to Liberation Day as "Day of the Fatherland's Liberation" and are reporting various commemorative events day after day. However, as of the morning of the day, they had not mentioned President Lee Jae-myung's Liberation Day address proposing multilateral talks to end the 6·25 War. This is the first time Lee has formally proposed multilateral talks on an end-of-war agreement.
Earlier, in his address at the 81st Liberation Day celebration on the 15th, the president said, "We will bring the war to an end and embark on a journey to transform the Korean Peninsula's unstable armistice regime into a peace regime," adding, "Let us set aside intentions of mutual threats against each other and begin discussions among the parties to end the long-standing war."