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Watch live: South Korea holds first large-scale military parade in a decade to mark Armed Forces Day

Lucy Leeson
Tuesday 26 September 2023 08:13 BST
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Watch live as South Korea holds first large-scale military parade in a decade to mark Armed Forces Day on Tuesday 26 September.

Weapons ranging from ballistic missiles to attack helicopters are due to roll through Seoul in a show of force as it takes a tougher stance against North Korea.

The parade marks the country’s Armed Forces Day, normally a muted event relative to the massive events the North has staged under leader Kim Jong Un that include strategic weapons such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

The highlight will be two-kilometre (1.24 mile) parade through Seoul’s main commercial and business district to the bustling Gwanghwamun area that is the gate to a sprawling palace in the heart of Seoul.

South Korea last held a military street parade in 2013. The Armed Forces Day event and parade are being held before the actual day on 1 October, as it overlaps with a major national holiday this year.

Tuesday’s parade kicked off at the airbase in Seongnam on the outskirts of Seoul, where Hyunmoo missiles, L-SAM missile interceptors, and reconnaissance drones were among military hardware on display.

A fly-past of F-35 jets and the country’s first domestically developed fighter, the KF-21, was scrapped because of poor weather, the presidential office said.

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