North Korea staged an intimidating parade of military muscle and patriotic fervor Saturday, aimed at rallying support around leader Kim Jong-Un on the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War.

For two hours, wave after wave of goose-stepping soldiers, followed by batteries of tanks and longer-range missiles on giant mobile launchers, marched through Kim Il-Sung square in a highly orchestrated display of national solidarity and defiance.

North Korea on Friday blasted South Korea's "arrogant" attitude after talks on salvaging the jointly-run Kaesong industrial zone collapsed, sparking a shoving match between officials from both sides.

The North also accused the South of using "delaying tactics" by demanding that Pyongyang take responsibility for the closure of the estate and compensate for financial losses.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has met a Syrian delegation during commemorations of the anniversary of the Korean War ceasefire, amid reports Pyongyang is helping the Syrian regime's battle against rebels.

Kim had a "cordial talk" Wednesday with the delegation led by Abdullah al-Ahmar, deputy general secretary of Syria's ruling Baath Arab Socialist Party, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inaugurated a new cemetery for heroes of the Korean War on Thursday, watched by thousands of veterans and their families gathered in Pyongyang for the 60th anniversary of the 1950-53 conflict.

Kim, dressed in his usual black, high-collared suit and flanked by top military officials, cut a red ribbon and laid a wreath at the cemetery's main monument -- a giant stone rifle barrel with a fixed bayonet pointing to the sky.

North and South Korea held fresh talks Thursday on reopening a joint industrial zone amid growing concern that their last symbol of peace might be heading for a permanent shutdown.

Officials from both sides have already met five times this month but failed to narrow their differences on rescuing the Seoul-invested Kaesong zone in North Korea, suspended since April.

Fresh satellite images confirm that North Korea has halted construction at a facility to launch a new generation of long-range rockets, a U.S. research institute said Tuesday.

The building of a new launch pad, missile assembly building and launch control center at the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground slowed and then stopped around September 2012.

Torrential rain has caused severe damage in North Korea, killing five people and leaving more than 23,000 people homeless, state media reported Monday.

Heavy rain has swept the center of the country and caused flood damage, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

North and South Korea began a fifth round of talks Monday on reopening a joint industrial complex, after previous meetings failed to agree on a framework for resuming operations.

Production at the Kaesong estate has been suspended since North Korea withdrew its 53,000 workers from the complex in April at the height of soaring military tensions with the South.

North Korea has awarded late leader Kim Jong-Il a new medal, state media said Saturday, as Pyongyang gears up to mark 60 years since the Korean War ended.

The presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, or parliament, passed the order on Kim -- who died of a heart attack in December 2011 -- on June 10, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

Japan and South Korea on Thursday took a conciliatory step toward mending ties frayed by months of low-level squabbling with a courtesy call between foreign ministers.

South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kyou Hyun, who has been visiting Japan this week, met with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida at his office in Tokyo.