North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called patriotic people the "best assets" of the state as he marked the country's founding anniversary with a paramilitary parade, the North's state media reported Sunday.
Kim made the remarks at a photo session Saturday with people who took part in the celebrations of the country's 75th founding day, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency.
"The patriotic people, including the persons of merits and labor innovators who have dedicated themselves to creating valuable assets for the prosperity of the country by placing the state affairs above their family affairs in good or bad days, are the best assets representing the very might of the country," Kim said, according to the report by the KCNA.
The KCNA also described the anniversary as "a great revolutionary event with high national pride and patriotic enthusiasm."
The photo session took place at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of the national founder Kim Il-sung and the current leader's late father, Kim Jong-il, lie in state, according to the KCNA.
The paramilitary event marked the third military parade North Korea has staged this year alone, with the latest one taking place in July on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the 1950-53 Korean War armistice.
The parade came amid speculation that Kim may soon travel to Vladivostok to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible arms deal. (Yonhap)
