N.Korea prepares for biggest ever military parade: Yonhap

North Korea is preparing its largest-ever military parade, involving thousands of soldiers, tanks and missile launchers, the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported Sunday.

About 10,000 soldiers have been deployed to Mirim air base near Pyongyang since July to practice parades for a "large-scale national ceremony," Yonhap reported, citing several unnamed sources in North Korea.

It was not clear when the parade, likely to take place in Pyongyang, would be.

Considering the scale of preparations, the event will likely be the country's "largest ever" military ceremony, Yonhap quoted a source as saying.

Seoul's Ministry of Defense said last month that it had detected a "massive" deployment of North Korean troops, including a large number of soldiers, armored vehicles and artillery, near the capital.

The South Korean government will meet tomorrow to approve an 8-billion-won ($7 mil-lion) aid package to be sent via the Red Cross to North Korea's flood-relief effort.

The relief, announced by Seoul earlier this month, includes 5,000 tons of rice, 10,000 tons of cement, 3 million packs of instant noodles, and other medical and emergency supplies.

Last month, floods washed away thousands of homes, roads, railways and farmland across North Korea, causing an unspecified number of deaths.

AFP