Nat CastañedaJune 02, 2018North Korea gallery, NK3Comment

North Korea: Military parades

Nat CastañedaJune 02, 2018North Korea gallery, NK3Comment

Along with its famous mass games, North Korea has taken the tradition of the military parade to a level all of its own. Its parades are used to show off the best and newest weapons in its arsenal and the almost-unhuman precision of its goose-stepping troops.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves while officials, from left, Choe Ryong Hae, Kim Yong Nam, Pak Pong Ju, and Hwang Pyong So applaud during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2017. The parade was held to celebrate the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the country's late founder and grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Soldiers march across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Dancers perform during a military parade in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Oct. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrives at the cemetery for fallen fighters of the Korean People's Army in Pyongyang on July 25, 2013, during a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that halted fighting on the Korean peninsula. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

University students carry North Korean flags below bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on April 15, 2017, during a military parade in Pyongyang to celebrate the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the country's late founder and grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

North Korean soldiers turn to look toward their leader, Kim Jong Un, as they carry packs marked with the nuclear symbol during a parade marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Soldiers march past veterans during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Oct. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Soldiers march across Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 15, 2017, during a military parade to celebrate the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the country's late founder and grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

A large 16-wheel truck carries a missile during a massive military parade in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square on April 15, 2012, to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the late North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, smiles at Hwang Pyong So, the top political officer of the Korean People's Army, center, and Kim Yong Nam, the head of North Korea's parliament, left, as they watch a parade at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on May 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Men carrying North Korean flags march in a mass military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice on July 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

A soldier stands during a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's ruling party on Oct. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Soldiers take part in a military parade on April 15, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea, to celebrate the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the country's late founder and grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

People wave flowers and flags as they march alongside a float displaying of models of various missiles along with doves on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, during a military parade to celebrate the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung on April 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

A military officer looks at foreign journalists from behind a balcony during a parade to celebrate North Korea's newly completed ruling-party congress at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on May 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Jets fly over the Juche Tower during a parade on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Oct. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

North Koreans wave decorative flowers as they walk past their leader, Kim Jong Un, during a parade in Pyongyang on Oct. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

North Korean war veterans express varying degrees of emotion as they watch a parade in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square on July 27, 2014, to mark the 61st anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the Korean War. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, to celebrate the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, his grandfather, on April 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

North Korean soldiers ride in the back of trucks as they drive down Mirae Scientists Street in Pyongyang on April 19, 2017, after participating in a military parade held to celebrate the 105th anniversary of the birth of the country's late founder, Kim Il Sung. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

A North Korean soldier is silhouetted on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on Oct. 10, 2015, following a mass military parade. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

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Nat Castañeda

Visual artist and Digital Storyteller at The Associated Press