FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as we told you earlier, North Koreans are marking 55 years of communist rule. But with tensions rising in that region, what might the next 55 years hold? Our Mike Chinoy joins us now from Hong Kong with more -- Mike.</s>MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. Well, the North Korean regime threw itself a huge birthday party today. The North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, appearing on a rostrum to watch tens of thousands of people in this incredible, highly choreographed display of political theater, troops and civilians parading through Kim Il Sung Square, all of them chanting slogans of loyalty to Kim Jong Il. This is a very important political event for North Korea. These kinds of stage managed propaganda events are the glue that helps the regime stay in power and hold the society together. But this event was interesting as much for what it didn't have, what it didn't show, as what it did. There was a lot of speculation the North Koreans would use the occasion to show off a new intermediate range ballistic missile, and they didn't do that. In fact, there were no military vehicles of any kind. I've covered some of these events in the past and diplomats have often speculated that North Korea's shortage of fuel is so bad they simply aren't able to power all those trucks and tanks through the square. Still, the message from this event was one of defiance. The North Korean Army chief of staff saying that Pyongyang would continue to strengthen its nuclear deterrent force and he threatened crushing blows at the American imperialists, as he called them, if the U.S. continues what the North Koreans say is Washington's hostile policy towards the regime in Pyongyang -- Fredricka.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Mike, thank you very much for that report from Hong Kong.
North Koreans Marking 55 Years of Communist Rule