The Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK ) has held a military parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the country's founding. Thousands of troops marched in Pyongyang earlier Sunday, followed by artillery and tanks.

No intercontinental ballistic missiles were displayed. Regarding other weapons and warfare, we asked Mr. Teng Jianqun, the director of the American Studies Department at China Institute of International Studies for his views. 

According to Teng, there were no specific weapon systems demonstrated in the parade. For example, airplanes forming the number '70' fly in formation and fire flares during the parade were actually produced half a century ago by the former Soviet Union and also the newly modified armed vehicles.

However, there are some new features to these weapons according to Teng. "For example, some self-defense missiles are attached to the tanks and the armed vehicle, which enhances survivability. I think this is a very interesting addition to the DPRK people's army.

And also, I was deeply impressed by the digitalized troops demonstrated during the parade, which means the DPRK has also attached importance to the informational warfare in the future. The hardware and the software are actually almost the same but we can interpret some new developments by DPRK in its army building." said Teng.

The DPRK has been upholding its Army-first Policy since 1995. But at the opening speech of the ceremony, the head of the DPRK's parliament Kim Yong Nam called on the military to be ready to help build the economy. 

On whether that means the DPRK will give up its Army-first Policy, Mr. Teng said that it's really hard to say if the DPRK had already given up the Army-first policy, which it adopted decades ago. This is a transition from the military construction to the social improvement and economic development in the country. And this is only a shift, according to Teng.

"I don't think DPRK will give up its military capability development. For example, as we mentioned just now, the digitalized troops, of course, is very new, the google in the helmet gave us very impressive signature to the outside world. The DPRK has the capability to engage in information warfare with other countries. This is a new development."

"So, I think military-first is one of the pillars for the country and social and economic development should be another pillar for the DPRK in the future. This is actually a strategy shift by Kim Jong Un in the recent mile," said Teng.

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