South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said that North Korea is preparing for a major military parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers' Party this month.

JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said during a press briefing on Thursday that the event will involve tens of thousands of participants and that the South Korean military is keeping a close eye on the situation.

He explained that the military had detected movement among vehicles and some military equipment, but had not observed the motion of any major weapons systems.

Lee added that the event will likely take place at night.

There is speculation that North Korea may unveil its new Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile during the parade or possibly conduct a surprise test firing of the missile around the time of the party anniversary.