North Korea's Kim Yo Jong Mocks Seoul Military Parade, Downplays Capabilities

The Hyunmoo, surface-to-surface missile, march during a celebration to mark 76th anniversary of Korea Armed Forces Day, in Seongnam, South Korea, October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool/File Photo
The Hyunmoo, surface-to-surface missile, march during a celebration to mark 76th anniversary of Korea Armed Forces Day, in Seongnam, South Korea, October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool/File Photo
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North Korea's Kim Yo Jong Mocks Seoul Military Parade, Downplays Capabilities

The Hyunmoo, surface-to-surface missile, march during a celebration to mark 76th anniversary of Korea Armed Forces Day, in Seongnam, South Korea, October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool/File Photo
The Hyunmoo, surface-to-surface missile, march during a celebration to mark 76th anniversary of Korea Armed Forces Day, in Seongnam, South Korea, October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool/File Photo

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, criticized a military parade held in Seoul for its Armed Forces Day this week and called it a "clown show", in a statement carried by state media KCNA on Thursday.

She also downplayed South Korea's military capabilities put on display, as well as slamming the flypast of a US B-1B bomber during Tuesday's parade.

"Who could talk about 'end of regime' by showing off what is such a uselessly bulky weapon," Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA, referring to South Korea's display of its powerful new Hyunmoo-5 missile capable of carrying an eight-ton warhead, Reuters reported.

Military officials have said Tuesday's parade was partly intended to showcase South Korea's military might as a deterrence to North Korea, which frequently stages parades featuring weapons such as intercontinental ballistic missiles,

In a speech ahead of the parade, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said the day Pyongyang uses nuclear weapons will be the end of its regime.

Tuesday's parade at a Seoul air base involved some 5,300 troops, 340 types of military equipment and aircraft flypasts. Another smaller-scale parade took place in downtown Seoul, drawing thousands of spectators.



Iran Ministry Protests over Arrests in US of its Nationals

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
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Iran Ministry Protests over Arrests in US of its Nationals

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Iran has summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents US interests in the country, and a senior Italian diplomat over the arrest by the US of two Iranian nationals this week, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

US prosecutors charged the two men on Monday with illegally exporting sensitive technology to Iran that they said was used in a January drone attack in Jordan that killed three US service members, Reuters reported.

The US blamed Iran-backed militants for the attack. Iran said at the time it was not involved.

Federal prosecutors in Boston identified the men as Mohammad Abedini, the co-founder of an Iranian-based company, and Mahdi Sadeghi, an employee of Massachusetts-based semiconductor manufacturer Analog Devices.

Abedini, a resident of both Switzerland and Iran, was arrested in Italy at the request of the US government. Sadeghi, an Iranian-born naturalized US citizen, lives in Natick, Massachusetts.

“We consider these arrests in violation of international law,” Iranian media quoted the foreign ministry as saying, adding that the Swiss ambassador and the Italian charge d'affaires were asked to pass on Iran’s protest.