North Korean media released a video of soldiers demonstrating their skills to Kim Jong-un. They smash through various stones with their hands and head, and with their upper body bare, they lie in shards of glass.
The ‘show’ resembles an extreme audition for a talent show but serves as propaganda for the North Korean army.
The military parade has been staged to show what the North Korean army is capable of. In addition to ‘performances’ of fighting soldiers, there was also a parade with giant rockets and brand new tanks.
It is mainly the images of weapons of war that are worrying experts. “This is yet another attempt to intimidate the West,” said Asia expert Gorden Chang.