N.Korea stages massive parade to mark 70th anniversary (Lead)
"The North held the military parade in the morning and it has been completed " the source told Seoul s Yonhap News Agency.
It is not yet clear whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un joined the event and if intercontinental ballistic missiles were put on display.
The North s media has stayed silent on the event which is the first since Kim held a historic summit with US President Donald Trump in June.
Meanwhile international journalists have been invited to watch the military parade a torch-lit rally and the Arirang Mass Games a highly choreographed event expected to involved hundreds of thousands of people CNN reported.
The Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance Arirang - or Arirang Games - last took place in 2013.
This year s games which tells a symbolic story of North Korea s history are titled "The Glorious Country" according to the BBC.
Analysis of satellite images from the past two weeks suggest this year s games which will continue throughout September are going to be very big.
With tickets for foreigners costing more than $930 the country could rake in foreign currency at a time it is still under sanctions from many Western nations.
National carrier Air Koryo has scheduled additional flights from Beijing to bring in more tourists to watch the performances.
Sunday s parade will be North Korea s second such event of the year.
The first came in February a day before South Korea held the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics. Those games helped kick start the current stage of rapprochement between the Koreas.
--IANS ksk