Decision comes amid easing tensions following Trump-Kim Summit
North Korea has reportedly cancelled this year’s annual “anti-U. S. imperialism” rally as tensions cool between the two nations.
According to The Associated Press, reporters confirmed in Pyongyang Monday that the “Day of Struggle against US Imperialism,” which marks the beginning of the Korean War, would not go forward as in previous years.
“Fist-pumping, flag-waving and slogan-shouting masses of Pyongyang residents normally assemble each year for the rally to kick off a month of anti-U. S., Korean War-focused events designed to strengthen nationalism and unity,” the AP writes.
Last year’s event, which is said to have drawn 100,000 participants to Kim Il Sung Square, famously included the release of two postage stamps showing a fist crushing a U. S. missile and numerous North Korean warheads targeting the U. S. Capitol.
The reported decision to skip the rally comes amid a historic détente following the summit between U. S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore earlier this month.
Anti-U. S. propaganda, including posters in Pyongyang and souvenirs at the Demilitarized Zone, has also reportedly disappeared from North Korea in recent weeks.
U. S. military officials in South Korea announced Saturday that it had moved 100 coffins to the border with North Korea after, according to Trump, Kim promised during the summit to return the remains of 200 U. S. soldiers.
The Pentagon also announced Friday that it would suspend two military exercises with South Korea, events that have repeatedly drawn the ire of North Korea’s leadership.
The Trump administration is now preparing to present Pyongyang with “specific asks” and “a specific timeline” for denuclearization in an attempt to determine whether the rogue nation is operating in good faith.
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