Five years ago, the late Kim Il Sung's centenary was marked by a failed attempt to launch a North Korean space satellite, and last year Pyongyang tested a newly developed intermediate range missile - also a failure.
The parade, the annual highlight of North Korea's most important holiday, came amid growing global worries that North Korea may be preparing for its sixth nuclear test or a major missile launch, such as its first flight test of an ICBM capable of reaching US shores.
Ostensibly the event is to mark the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim's grandfather, the North's founder Kim Il-Sung - a date known as the "Day of the Sun" in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the country's official name.
Tension has been building since Kim Jong Un announced in his New Year message that the country was close to testing an intercontinental ballistic missile.
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Another missile launch or nuclear test "can't be ruled out", he said, but the Syria strike and Washington's implied threats "may give Pyongyang some pause".
DPRK has promised to give a fit reply to any provocation by the United States, saying it is capable of hitting targets on USA soil.
State television showed what appeared to be several KN-08 missiles rolled out on trucks at the parade. According to diplomats, North Korean officials have described the USA president as "unpredictable" and been unnerved by his comments and actions.
"We are ready to hit back with nuclear attacks of our own style against any nuclear attacks", he said.
North Korea's Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un, was shown clapping and smiling from a reviewing box.
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For outside military analysts, though, the highlight is the weaponry that the North puts on display.
North Korean soldiers also rolled out what appeared to be another large rocket covered by a canister. An official from South Korea's defence ministry could not immediately confirm whether the rocket was a new ICBM. This would allow North Korea to prevent its limited number of ICBM-capable TELs from being damaged during launch and also make the missiles harder to detect after they're fired, he said.
China's Global Times newspaper, which is published by the People's Daily, the Communist Party's official paper, said North Korea must have felt the shockwave from the 11-ton "mother of all bombs" dropped by USA forces on Islamic State-linked fighters in Afghanistan on Thursday.
Other military hardware at the parade included tanks, multiple rocket launchers and artillery, as well as a solid-fuel missile created to be fired from submarines.
Concerns have grown since the U.S. Navy fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield last week in response to a deadly gas attack, raising questions about U.S. President Donald Trump's plans for North Korea, which has conducted missile and nuclear tests in defiance of United Nations and unilateral sanctions.
Kim, a 30-something leader who took power in late 2011, emphasizes nuclear weapons as the foundation of his national defense strategy. Under his watch, North Korea has aggressively pursued a goal of putting a nuclear warhead on an ICBM capable of reaching the continental United States.
"However, North Korea has a habit of showing off new concepts in parades before they ever test or launch them", Hanham said.
North Korea conducted two nuclear tests past year alone, advancing its goal to make nuclear weapons small enough to fit on long-range missiles. US satellite imagery suggests the country could conduct another underground nuclear test at any time.
Other senior officials joining Mr Kim at the podium included Kim Won Hong, who the South Korean government had said earlier this year was sacked from his job as state security minister, presumably over corruption.
The Nikkei business daily said government discussions included how to rescue the estimated 57,000 Japanese citizens in South Korea as well as how to cope with a possible flood of North Korean refugees coming to Japan, among whom might be North Korean spies and agents.
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