North Korea’s bizarre display to show 'iron fists' to enemies
A bizarre video of North Korean soldiers smashing bricks with their heads and lying on piles of glass has been released by the country to show off its military prowess.
The soldiers performed their stunts for a beaming Kim Jong-un on Monday during North Korea’s “self-defence” weapons systems exhibition.
The event marks the previous day’s 76th birthday of the ruling Workers’ Party.
State media said the footage showed the country’s soldiers will defend North Korea from its enemies with “iron fists”.
During the presentation, which was aired on North Korean TV this week, soldiers can be seen kicking, punching and running head first into bricks and stacked concrete slabs as a crowd of military officials applaud.
Soldiers are also filmed being repeatedly hit with large wooden poles and rubber mallets.
At one point, two soldiers place the ends of a metal rod at their throats and force it to bend as they move closer to each other.
The final clip shows one man lying down on a pile of broken glass as other soldiers place a concrete block on top of him and hit it with a mallet, causing it to snap.
The footage comes after a North Korean soldier clad in a super-tight blue outfit generated a buzz on social media, with some calling him "a superhero," "a captain DPRK," or "a rocket man".
He was among nearly 30 soldiers who posed for a state media photo with leader Kim Jong-un.
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Kim Jong-un vows to build 'invincible' military
During Monday’s event, Jong-un vowed to build an “invincible” military.
He also accused the United States of creating tensions and not taking action to prove it has no hostile intent toward the North.
In an apparent continued effort to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, Kim also said his drive to build up his military isn’t targeted at South Korea.
He said there shouldn’t be another war pitting Korean people against each other.
“The US has frequently signalled it’s not hostile to our state, but there is no action-based evidence to make us believe that they are not hostile,” Kim said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
“The US is continuing to create tensions in the region with its wrong judgments and actions.”
Calling the United States a “source” of instability on the Korean Peninsula, Kim said his country’s most important objective is possessing an “invincible military capability” that no one can dare challenge.
With AP
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