N Korea ready for US war, leader tells lavish military parade

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said he was ready for war with the United States as the nuclear-armed nation celebrated its ruling party's 70th birthday Saturday with a spectacular, mass military parade.
Tens of thousands of troops, followed by waves of tanks, armoured vehicles and ballistic missiles, goose-stepped their way through Pyongyang's Kim Il-Sung Square in one of the largest ceremonial displays of military muscle the country had ever organised.
In his first public speech for three years, Kim struck a far more belligerent tone than in previous addresses, with a special message for the North's traditional enemy.
"Our party dauntlessly declares that our revolutionary armed forces are capable of fighting any kind of war provoked by the US," the young leader proclaimed to rapturous applause from thousands of top military officers and party officials assembled below his viewing platform.

The cheers were echoed by tens of thousands of flag and flower-waving participants gathered in the square named after Kim's grandfather, over which a large banner slung from a gas-filled balloon read: "Long live the invincible Workers' Party of Korea."
North Korean threats to wipe out the US and neighbouring South Korea are common-place, but this was a particularly pointed message of defiance, given in the most public of forums before the cameras of the invited international media.

Kim also seized what amounted to a rare photo opportunity to underline his country's traditional alliance with China, which has shows signs of strain since he took power following the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, in 2011.

China had sent one of its top officials, politburo standing committee member Liu Yunshan, to the parade, and when Kim saluted the crowds at the end, he did so with Liu -- their hands raised and joined together.
China remains North Korea's main diplomatic protector and economic partner, but relations have soured in recent years with Beijing becoming increasing wary of Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
Today's parade had been expected to start in the morning, but heavy overnight rain and overcast skies saw it delayed until 3:00pm (0630 GMT) when the weather broke in a blaze of sunshine and blue skies.

After Kim's 20-minute speech, the vast march-past began, headed by floats carrying the smiling images of his grandfather and father.
The overriding theme of the parade was the glorification of the ruling Workers' Party that has served at the whim of the three generations of the Kim family for the last seven decades.