North Korea’s preparations are heating up for an event on Saturday that will mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.
 
Foreign media, including CNN, are covering the preparation efforts at Pyongyang with just one day left until the anniversary. The media said that Pyongyang citizens have been preparing for the event every night and day for the past month.
 
North Korea-focused Web site, 38 North, assessed that the North is preparing for what may be the largest military parade in its history based on satellite imagery acquired earlier on Tuesday. The report added that the recent imagery shows that the capital city has grown to approximately 800 tents, 700 trucks and 200 military vehicles.
 
The site said that ballistic missile launchers and long-range self-propelled guns have not been identifiable yet, but that they could arrive a day or two before the parade, as this has happened in the past.
 
Meanwhile, Liu Yunshan, the 5th-ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, arrived in the North on Friday to attend the celebratory event. Attention is being drawn to whether he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Liu is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit the North since the launch of the Xi Jinping administration.
 
Attention is also being drawn to what new weapons will be demonstrated at the military parade that will be aired live and whether Kim will deliver a speech.