North Korea Celebrates End of Korean War
BLITZER: CNN is inside North Korea right now. One of the world's most isolated countries, opening up slightly, temporarily at it marks the anniversary of the end of the Korean War 60 years ago. And it's doing so in spectacular fashion. Our senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang right now. It's, what, just after 6:30 in the morning, Ivan. I know there are severe restrictions, what you're allowed to see, who you could talk to, but tell our viewers a little bit of what's going on.</s>IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are very strictly controlled here, but what we are seeing right now is what the North Korean government would like us to see, the image of this country that it wants to portray to the world. And I can't stress enough how much that is dominated by the iconography of the government, of its own patriotic vision, and by the dynasty that has ruled this country, really, for 60 years now. What is really striking also is how much you get a sense that the whole city of Pyongyang, perhaps the whole country, is being mobilized to celebrate the 60-year anniversary of the Signing of the Armistice that brought an end to the Korean War. Really an entire city being mobilized for these celebrations.</s>WATSON (voice-over): It is a spectacle celebrating North Korea's 21st Century brand of socialism. With a cast of thousands. North Koreans call this the annual Arirang games. This year's theme is victory. Victory is what Pyongyang calls the Signing of the Armistice, which brought an end to the Korean War in 1953. (</s>On camera): This is a mass collectiveness way of national unity and North Korean political will. And it's also a message that 60 years after the Korean War, this country is still here. (</s>Voice-over): The biggest applause of the night goes to North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong-Un, third in a dynasty that rules this country and the man held here as the, quote, "fearless brilliant commander," who leads the fight against what the government calls American imperialism. In the crowd, veterans of past conflicts. And on stage members of the country's next generation. Rich with propaganda, this performance includes a celebration of North Korea's missile technology and its controversial nuclear program. One of the closing acts of this year's Arirang games, an appeal for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula, a reminder that for all the talk of victory in the stadium, North and South Korea are still as divided as ever.</s>WATSON: And what's also fascinating here is that the North Koreans have also -- often described their effort in the Korean War as a purely North Korean effort. Now there is a lot of emphasis being given to the hundreds of thousands of Chinese who also fight against the U.S. and its allies during that war. Chinese veterans are here as well as one Russian veteran, who was a Soviet anti-aircraft gunner, who was shooting at American planes during the war, and one American Navy pilot, also visiting this country for the first time in 60 years since the conflict -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: It's obviously still a very tense time on the Korean Peninsula, Ivan, right now. But are you getting any indications that the North Koreans would like to ease some of those tensions?</s>WATSON: It's very hard to tell right now, Wolf. We're hearing from some of the minders that we talked to that yes, of course, North Korea wants to reach out, improve relations, that it's under terrible impression by what everybody here describes as U.S. imperialism. What's interesting is that the Chinese vice president, he came to visit here. China, of course, North Korea's closest ally. And he has called for resumption of the six-party talks aimed at trying to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. What it will be really interesting is to hear whether or not North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-Un, whether or not he will have some kind of response to that request at the military parade we're expecting to see here in just a few hours.</s>BLITZER: Ivan Watson in Pyongyang. It's not often we get to -- we get to send one of our reporters there. Not only is he there but he's there reporting live from the North Korean capital. We'll check back with you tomorrow, Ivan. Thanks very much. Coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM, we have details of a plea bargain by the man who held three women captive in this Cleveland home for a decade. We're also going live to the Lincoln Memorial right here in the nation's capital. It has been attacked by vandals.