World

In detente sign, NKorea not holding its annual anti-US rally

25 of June 2018

FILE - In this June 25, 2017, file photo, tens of thousands of men and women pump their fists in the air and chant as they carry placards with anti-American propaganda slogans at Pyongyang's central Kim Il Sung Square, in North Korea, to mark what North Korea calls "the day of struggle against U.S. imperialism" – the anniversary of the start of the Korean War. In another sign of detente following the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korea has opted not to hold this year’s “anti-U.S. imperialism” rally. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File),FILE - In this June 25, 2017, file photo, tens of thousands of men and women pump their fists in the air and chant as they carry placards with anti-American propaganda slogans at Pyongyang's central Kim Il Sung Square, in North Korea, to mark what North Korea calls "the day of struggle against U.S. imperialism" – the anniversary of the start of the Korean War. In another sign of detente following the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korea has opted not to hold this year’s “anti-U.S. imperialism” rally. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File)

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea has opted not to hold an “anti-U.S. imperialism” rally marking the anniversary of the start of the Korean War, another sign of detente following the summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.

Last year’s event was held on Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square with a reported 100,000 people attending. The North even issued special anti-U.S. postage stamps.

But for the first time in years, no such rally was planned on Monday.

Fist-pumping, flag-waving and slogan-shouting masses of North Koreans normally join the annual rally that sets off a month of anti-U.S., Korean War-focused events designed to strengthen nationalism and unity. It all culminates on July 27, which the North celebrates as the day of “Victory in the Fatherland Liberation War.”