North Koreans celebrate the 75th founding anniversary of the country's ruling Workers' Party at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, Saturday. AP-Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gave what experts see as contradictory messages to the North Korean people, South Korea and the United States in a rare late-night military parade on the 75th founding anniversary of the North's ruling Workers' Party, Saturday.

Cheong Wa Dae convened a National Security Council meeting, Sunday, to analyze the motives behind Kim's messages and display of its arsenal.

Among them were what was possibly the North's biggest-yet intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which was mounted on an 11-axle launch vehicle that was also seen for the first time.

The North also displayed a variety of solid-fuel weapons system, including what could be an advanced version of its Pukguksong family of missiles designed to be fired from submarines or land-based mobile launchers.

The presidential office cited a need to observe all agreements reached by the two Koreas to avoid armed conflicts on the Korean Peninsula.

It also said it will continue to analyze strategic significance and other details of the North's newly introduced weapons while having relevant ministries work together to restore cross-border ties.

At the celebratory event, Kim shed tears as he thanked the people of North Korea for abiding by anti-virus measures imposed by the party and helping the country to stay free of COVID-19 infection. Kim also praised soldiers for their hard work on flood recovery projects.

"I am truly thankful that none of you have suffered from the pandemic … Seeing you all in good health makes me feel deeply touched and I can't find any other words than thank you," Kim, flanked by his senior officials, said before the troops and tens of thousands of spectators in Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung Square.

His "humane" gesture was a divergence from the god-like status and cult of personality passed down in the three-generation lineage of North Korean leadership.

"And this shows that the situation in the North is worse than what the outside world expected and that Kim is desperate to soothe and unite the people," said Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University.

Park speculated that, although the North denies any cases of coronavirus, the pandemic exists there and it is further jeopardizing the country's fragile economy.

The professor referred to Kim calling the North "the only country on the planet that has carried out quarantine irrespective of all shortcomings due to brutally enduring sanctions and extreme natural disasters."