North Korea is holding a huge parade to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War.
State TV showed soldiers and military hardware parading through the capital Pyongyang in a carefully choreographed display.
Troops and spectators shouted their allegiance to North Korea’s young ruler, Kim Jong-un.
The 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce although North Korea and South Korea remain technically at war.
Correspondents say the lavish parade of weapons and goose-stepping soldiers is reminiscent of marches held by the Soviet Union and China at the height of the Cold War.
The TV pictures showed Kim Jong-un walking up to the podium on a red carpet with a military band playing in the background. The North Korean leader oversaw the parade flanked by military and ruling party leaders.
North Korea is holding a huge parade to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War
Large banners hung from gas-filled balloons and the main square in Pyongyang was filled with North Korean flags.
Over the past week North Korea has staged mass rallies and fireworks displays to commemorate the anniversary.
It comes as North and South Korea try to restore ties following a period of high tension.
Earlier this month, they ended a third round of talks on the re-opening of a jointly-run industrial zone without reaching a deal.
Work at Kaesong has been suspended since mid-April when North Korea withdrew its workers.
The move came amid tense relations between the two Koreas after Pyongyang’s nuclear test in February.
In South Korea, the anniversary was marked with a speech by President Park Geun-hye.
Park Geun-hye vowed not to tolerate provocations from North Korea but also said Seoul would work on building trust with the North.
“I urge North Korea to give up the development of nuclear weapons if the country is to start on a path toward true change and progress,” she said.
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Veterans Day started on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
Veterans Day was first called Armistice Day, declared to mark the end of World War I hostilities at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 .
American Congress gave it that name in 1926, though it didn’t become a national holiday for a dozen more years.
In 1954, the holiday became known as Veterans Day when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation making it so in order to honor veterans of all U.S. wars.
Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday in October in 1968 by Congress, but that was reversed in 1978 when it became obvious that Americans wanted the holiday celebrated November 11.
Veterans Day is often confused with Memorial Day because they are similar in intent, but not identical. Memorial Day honors America’s war dead, while Veterans Day honors all American veterans, living and dead, and has a special emphasis on thanking living veterans for their service to the country.
Veterans Day was first called Armistice Day, declared to mark the end of World War I hostilities at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918
Facts about Veterans Day:
*There is no apostrophe in Veterans Day.
*In 1921, the United States laid to rest the remains of a World War I American soldier — his name “known but to God” – in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on a hillside overlooking Washington, D.C. It became known as the “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” and was meant to symbolize reverence for the American veteran. Today it is known as the “Tomb of the Unknowns.”
*At the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery, at 11 a.m. each November 11, a color guard composed of members of each of the military branches renders honors to America’s war dead. The U.S. president or a representative -today it was Vice President Joe Biden -places a wreath at the tomb and a bugler sounds taps.
Here are some other facts, courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau:
Veterans
21.8 million = The number of military veterans in the United States in 2010.
1.6 million = The number of female veterans in 2010.
2.4 million = The number of black veterans in 2010.
Additionally, 1.2 million veterans were Hispanic; 265,000 were Asian; 156,000 were American Indian or Alaska Native; 28,000 were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and 17.5 million were non-Hispanic white. (The numbers for blacks, Asians, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, and non-Hispanic whites cover only those reporting a single race.)
9 million = The number of veterans 65 and older in 2010.
At the other end of the age spectrum, 1.7 million were younger than 35.
When Veterans Served
7.6 million = Number of Vietnam-era veterans in 2010. 35% of all living veterans served during this time (1964-1975).
In addition, 4.8 million served during the Gulf War (representing service from August 2, 1990, to present);
2.1 million in World War II (1941-1945);
2.6 million in the Korean War (1950-1953);
and 5.5 million in peacetime only.
49,500 = Number of living veterans in 2010 who served during the Vietnam era and both Gulf War eras and no other period.
Other living veterans in 2010 who served during three wars:
54,000 served during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam era.
Living veterans in 2010 who served during two wars and no other period:
837,000 served during both Gulf War eras.
211,000 served during both the Korean War and the Vietnam era.
147,000 served during both World War II and the Korean War.
Where Veterans Live
3 = Number of states with 1 million or more veterans in 2010. These states were California (2 million), Florida (1.6 million) and Texas (1.6 million).
14.1% = percent of people 18 and older in Alaska who were veterans in 2010.
The percent of the 18 and older population who were veterans was 12% or more in Maine, Montana, Virginia and Wyoming.
Veterans Education
26% = Percent of veterans 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree in 2010. In comparison, 28% of the total population had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
92% = Percent of veterans 25 and older with a high school diploma or higher in 2010, compared with 86% of the population as a whole.
Veterans Income
$35,367 = Annual median income of veterans, in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars, compared with $25,605 for the population as a whole.
Veterans On the Job
9.6 million = Number of veterans 18 to 64 in the labor force in 2010.
Veterans Disabilities
26% = Percent of veterans for whom poverty status is determined with a disability in 2010.
3.4 million = Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating. Of this number, 698,000 have a rating of 70% or higher. Severity of one’s disability is scaled from 0 to 100 percent and eligibility for compensation depends on one’s rating.
Veterans Voting
15.8 million = Number of veterans who voted in the 2008 presidential election. 71% of veterans cast a ballot in the presidential election.
12.4 million = Number of veterans who voted in the 2010 congressional election. 57% of veterans voted in the 2010 congressional election.
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