N Korea gears up for grand military parade

SEOUL, Jan 18 (AFP): North Korea is preparing a lavish display of its military strength in a parade on the eve of next month's Winter Olympics in the South, despite a rare sporting detente with Seoul, it was reported Thursday.

Pyongyang, which has rattled the international community with its nuclear and missile tests in recent months, has agreed to send athletes to the Games and march with the South under one flag at the opening ceremony.

But the North has also vowed to press ahead with commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of its military, with the South's Yonhap news agency reporting that it is planning a major parade on February 8 -- a day before the Olympic opening ceremony.

Some 12,000 soldiers, artillery and other weapons will feature at the spectacle in an airfield near Pyongyang, Yonhap said, quoting an unidentified South Korean government source.