Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, pledged that his country will ultimately turn into heaven on Earth, Sputnik correspondent Andrey Ivanov reported.
Kim spoke in the run-up to the parade to mark the successful wrap-up of the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea.
He stood at the podium in front of the Palace of the People's Study on Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung Square.
Ivanov pointed to the fact that parades in North Korea are very much akin to those that were held in the former Soviet Union during its national holidays.
At the same time, security is much tighter in North Korea, Ivanov said, adding that he, along with other foreign journalists, were allowed to attend the demonstration only after they were thoroughly searched.
The event started at 10 am sharp with the appearance of Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Jong-un, who was hailed by scores of demonstrators, gunfire and fireworks which saw thousands of multi-colored balloons.
Speaking at the demonstration, Kim Yong-nam, for his part, called the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea an important contribution in developing ideology related to North Korea relying on its own strength.
Thanks to it, Kim said, North Korean people under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea will be able to turn their country into a paradise on Earth and a developed world power despite opposition from the United States.
Kim's 30-minute speech was then followed by a demonstration which saw, among other things, mock-up models of ballistic missiles and space rockets rolling through the square.
At 7 pm local time, a concert kicked off at the square in an event that was followed by a breath-taking a torchlight march, during which tens of thousands of young men with torches constantly rearranged, forming the slogans "Songun," "Kim Il-sung," "Nuclear Power" and many others.
It was unclear how they managed to achieve such a synchrony of movement, Ivanov said, citing his guides as saying that the students did not spend much time on the training process.
"It only remains to believe the guides all the more, given that ignoramuses will very unlikely be able to turn their country into a paradise on earth," Ivanov concluded.
The 7th Congress of Workers’ Party, the first such meeting since 1980, started in the North Korean capital Pyongyang on May 6.
A source in North Korea's Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti last week that about 180 foreign journalists had arrived in Pyongyang. However, they were only allowed to make reports outside and talk to passers-by across the street from the April 25 House of Culture, where the congress was held.
