South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said the North seems to give the impression that it does not want to provoke the international community by not inviting the media.
But behind the scenes, it continues to mobilise its forces.
Photos of the secret military movements captured by the watchdog 38 North show that as of February 5 there are now approximately 13,000 troops practising on the training grounds of the Mirim Parade Training Facility, which is up from 12,000 on January 28.
But only a small group of artillery pieces and armoured vehicles are visible.
South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon says it is “regrettable” that a North Korean military parade is set to be held ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
He made the remark during the National Assembly’s interpellation session after he was asked by the opposition whether the Government asked Pyongyang to postpone the parade.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Jong-un’s mouthpiece, said in a report that it has changed the anniversary date of the establishment of the Korean People’s Army, which previously fell on April 25.
KCNA said: “February 8 will be marked as the Army-Building Day.
“The Cabinet and other relevant organs will take practical steps to significantly mark the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army.”
The news agency did not detail what steps will be taken, but it has been reported the North might be preparing a large-scale military parade that will require the mobilisation of troops and other weaponry.
A South Korea officials said around 13,000 troops and 200 pieces of equipment have been mobilised and detected near an airport in Pyongyang for an apparent rehearsal for a military parade.
A summit was held in Canada to discuss escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula.
In response, KCNA published a bellicose article which referenced the Korean War and claimed the North “won” it – despite the conflict never officially ending.
KCNA said: “Recently the US and its vassal forces held the Vancouver foreign ministers meeting in Canada over the security and stability of the Korean Peninsula.
“The issue of stepping up sanctions and pressure against the DPRK for its ‘denuclearisation’ was reportedly put on the table at the meeting attended by foreign ministers of 20 countries including Japan, Britain and France that participated in the past Korean War, with US Secretary of State Tillerson in the chair.
“Now the international community is pouring scorn on the farce of those countries which were defeated in the Korean War.
“The US dispatched its huge aggression forces boasting of their ‘invincibleness’ and ‘elite’ as well as its vassal forces to the Korean Peninsula in the past century but they all met the fate of forlorn wandering spirits.
“The US, which failed to bring the Korean people with rifles to their knees in the Korean War, is now trying to inveigle its vassal forces into the dangerous scenario against the DPRK which has emerged as a new strategic state. It is nothing but hysteria.”