You’ve probably seen the clips. A North Korean news anchor, draped in that iconic pink choson-ot, shouting with enough rhythmic intensity to shake a mountain range. For years, the internet has been obsessed with how Pyongyang reacts to American optics. But when it comes to the North Korean news report on Trump military parade—specifically the "Salute to America" in 2019 and more recent 2025 displays—the reality is a lot weirder than the memes suggest.
Honestly, most people expect North Korea to just launch into a scripted tantrum. We assume they’d see an American tank on a D.C. street and immediately call for fire and fury. But the state media apparatus, centered around the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, is actually a masterclass in strategic silence and very specific backhanded compliments.
The 2019 "Salute to America" Confusion
Let’s go back to July 4, 2019. Donald Trump brought out the M1 Abrams tanks and the Bradley Fighting Vehicles. It was a spectacle. Critics in the U.S. called it "North Korean-style" pageantry. So, how did the actual North Koreans report it?
They basically didn't.
At the time, Kim Jong Un and Trump were in the middle of their "love letter" phase. Just days before that parade, they’d had that historic, impromptu handshake at the DMZ. Because the vibes were—kinda—good, the North Korean news report on Trump military parade wasn't the scorched-earth critique people expected. Instead of mocking the hardware, state media kept the focus on the "personal relationship" between the two leaders.
They’ve always been savvy like that. If Kim likes the guy, the propaganda machine tones down the insults. When they did mention U.S. military posturing around that era, they didn't focus on the parade itself. They focused on "hostile forces" within the U.S. government that were trying to ruin the "special bond" between the two heads of state. It’s a classic divide-and-conquer rhetorical move.
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The Satire That Fooled the Internet
Fast forward to 2025. You might have seen a "leaked" North Korean news report circulating on TikTok or Instagram. In it, the legendary newsreader Ri Chun-hee supposedly mocks Trump’s military parade as a "vain and boastful display of waning military might." The voiceover calls Trump "bloated" and "confused."
Here’s the thing: It’s fake.
It’s actually a brilliant piece of satire from the Irish site Waterford Whispers News. They used real footage of Ri Chun-hee—who is technically retired but pops up for big nuclear tests—and dubbed over it. It went viral because it sounded exactly like what we think North Korea would say. But real North Korean propaganda is rarely that petty about someone's weight or personal appearance unless things have gone completely off the rails (like when they called Joe Biden a "rabid dog" or Trump a "dotard" back in 2017).
In the real North Korean news report on Trump military parade or any similar U.S. display, the language is much more formal. They use phrases like:
- "Anachronistic military arrogance"
- "Reckless drumbeating of war"
- "Psychological warfare aimed at the dignified Republic"
They don't usually do "Twitter-style" insults in their official news bulletins. They prefer high-octane ideological condemnation.
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Why North Korea Actually Watches These Parades
When the U.S. puts tanks on the street, Pyongyang isn't just looking for material to mock. They’re scouting. They want to see how American pageantry compares to their own.
North Korea's parades are, frankly, in a different league of coordination. We’re talking about 100,000 people moving as one single organism. When they look at a U.S. parade, they see something that looks "disorganized" or "lame" by their standards. But more importantly, they look at the hardware.
In 2025, when North Korea debuted the Hwasong-20 ICBM, their state media was quick to point out that their displays are "deterrents" while U.S. displays are "provocations." It’s a massive double standard, but it’s the bedrock of their world view. Kim Jong Un recently noted he has "good memories" of Trump, but his media still slams any U.S. military movement as a threat to their sovereignty.
The "Mirror Effect" in Propaganda
There is a strange sort of mutual admiration—or maybe mutual obsession—between the way Trump views military strength and the way the Kim regime displays it. Trump has famously praised the "strength" and "toughness" of the displays in Pyongyang.
North Korean state media picks up on this. They love it when an American president validates their "invincibility." So, when they report on an American parade, they often frame it as a weak imitation of the "superior ideological unity" found in the DPRK.
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What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that North Korea is a monolith of anger. It’s not. Their news reports are highly calibrated. If a North Korean news report on Trump military parade is silent, it means they are open to deals. If it’s loud and screeching, it means they feel ignored or threatened.
Basically, the news isn't "news" in North Korea. It’s a thermometer. And right now, the mercury is jumping all over the place.
Actionable Insights: How to Spot a Real NK Report
If you see a video claiming to be a North Korean reaction to U.S. politics, use these filters to check if it's real:
- The Voiceover: Real KCNA broadcasts in English are narrated by people with very specific, slightly dated North Korean-English accents. If it sounds like a professional Western voice actor or a generic AI, it's fake.
- The Subtitles: Official translations are incredibly formal. They will never use slang like "clout" or "cringe." They use words like "ignominy" and "proclivity."
- The Watermark: Look for the "KCTV" logo in the top corner. If it's missing or looks blurred, be skeptical.
- The Source: Check KCNA Watch. It’s an aggregator that tracks actual state media. If it isn't there, it didn't happen.
Keeping an eye on these reports is actually useful for understanding where the nuclear "red lines" are being drawn this year. It's a weird window into a very closed world, but you have to know how to look through it without getting fooled by the parodies.
Keep your eyes on the official KCNA channels if you want the real temperature of the peninsula. Don't trust the TikTok dubs; the actual propaganda is much more calculated and, honestly, a lot more revealing about the state of global security.