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.



German Christmas Market Attacker Asked about Whereabouts of Saudi Ambassador

People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024.  EPA/FILIP SINGER
People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024. EPA/FILIP SINGER
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German Christmas Market Attacker Asked about Whereabouts of Saudi Ambassador

People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024.  EPA/FILIP SINGER
People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024. EPA/FILIP SINGER

The perpetrator who drove a car at speed through a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg, Germany, has reportedly offered a reward in return for information about the whereabouts of the Saudi ambassador to Germany, a source told Independent Arabia on Sunday.
The source said that the attacker, Taleb al-Abd al-Mohsen, had offered a SAR 10,000 (equivalent to 2662 euros) in reward for anyone who provides information pertaining to the residence of the Saudi ambassador to Germany, and the timing of his presence.
The Saudi embassy had informed the German authorities about the threat, said the source but the latter “did not take the matter seriously”, he stated.
On Friday, Taleb al-Abd al-Mohsen drove a car at speed through a Christmas market in Germany, killing four women ranging in age from 45 to 75, as well as a 9-year-old boy and injuring 200, including 41 in serious condition.
The police apprehended the perpetrator at the scene of the attack. He is a doctor who had fled Saudi Arabia, where he was wanted on criminal charges. He had been residing in Germany for two decades.
Saudi Arabia condemned the ramming attack and expressed solidarity with the people of Germany.
A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned the German authorities about the suspect who appears to have been an active user of the social media platform X, sharing extremist tweets and retweets daily.
In 2023 and 2024, Germany received warnings about the man from Saudi authorities, a German source affirmed.