The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, said in an editorial that people and its soldiers should move forward in creating a strong communist nation, adding they should make a leap in the area of economic development on the 66th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

The armistice signed on July 27, 1953, left South and North Korea technically in a state of war. The North has designated the date as Victory Day.

The Rodong Sinmun published 20 stories regarding the Korean War on the armistice anniversary, but there were no heavy criticism against the United States, apparently concentrating on internal bonds. Experts said it's also a sign from Pyongyang that denuclearization talks with Washington are still open, experts said.

On Friday, Kim Su-gil, the North's director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, said that Pyongyang will firmly guard the country's self-reliance in the face of international sanctions over its nuclear and missile tests.

Kim's remarks came a day after North Korea fired two short-range missiles into the East Sea from near the eastern coastal town of Wonsan. (Yonhap)