China, Russia, Vietnam dignitaries gather in N. Korea for party anniv.

A Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile that featured in a military parade held in Pyongyang

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have arrived in North Korea to attend events marking the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, media reports from the three countries said Thursday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the Party Founding Museum a day before the anniversary on Friday and called for strict discipline within the ruling party, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said North Korea may hold a military parade to mark the ruling party’s founding anniversary as early as Thursday night.

Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith visited North Korea ahead of the celebrations and left Pyongyang for home on Thursday after holding talks with Kim and touring a defense equipment exhibition, KCNA said. He was the first Lao leader to visit the North Korean capital in 14 years.

Delegations from Brazil, Nicaragua and Equatorial Guinea have also arrived in Pyongyang.

North Korea last held a large-scale military parade in July 2023 to mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the 1950-1953 Korean War armistice.

Military analysts are on alert for a possible unveiling of North Korea’s next-generation Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile and the new “secret weapons” Kim mentioned in late September.