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.



Four Killed in Helicopter Crash at Turkish Hospital

A US AH-64 Apache helicopter. Reuters file photo
A US AH-64 Apache helicopter. Reuters file photo
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Four Killed in Helicopter Crash at Turkish Hospital

A US AH-64 Apache helicopter. Reuters file photo
A US AH-64 Apache helicopter. Reuters file photo

Four people were killed in southwest Türkiye on Sunday when an ambulance helicopter collided with a hospital building and crashed into the ground.
The helicopter was taking off from the Mugla Training and Research Hospital, carrying two pilots, a doctor and another medical worker, the health ministry said in a statement.
Mugla's regional governor, Idris Akbiyik, told reporters the helicopter first hit the fourth floor of the hospital building before crashing into the ground. No one inside the building or on the ground was hurt. The cause of the accident, which took place during heavy fog, was being investigated.
Footage from the site showed debris from the crash scattered around the area outside the hospital building, with several ambulances and emergency teams at the scene.