It caps off more than a week of political meetings, with Kim waving from a balcony.

A cheering crowds below the parade featured rows of marching soldiers as well as a range of military hardware, including tanks and rocket launchers.

At the end, a number of what analysts said appeared to be a range of new short range ballistic missiles, including the submarine versions rolled into the square on trucks.

Experts say North Korea is seeking to developed an operational submarine to carry the missiles.

It hasn't tested a nuclear bomb or fired its longest range missile since 2017.

But Kim has signaled that that period may now be at an end, since dialogue with the US and its outgoing president, Donald Trump, has stalled.

North Korean officials have been meeting in Pyongyang for the first party conference in five years on rounded off proceedings with a large scale group photo that included Kim and several 1000 members of Congress.