Kim Jong Gun: North Korean generals pose like gangsters alongside their leader with pistols awarded to them to mark Korean War armistice anniversary

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un was shown Monday surrounded by generals posing like gangsters holding commemorative pistols awarded to them to mark the anniversary of the Korean War armistice. 

Meanwhile in the South, masked veterans marked the occasion with a socially distanced ceremony as the two sides separately held memorials for the armistice that ended hostilities in 1953.

The contrasting events marked 67 years since the ceasefire that left the peninsula divided and millions of families split by the Demilitarized Zone. 

In the North's capital, Kim handed out commemorative pistols to dozens of generals and senior officers, who pledged their loyalty to him, state media reported.

Over the weekend, The North reported its first suspected case of novel coronavirus infection - after insisting for months it had kept itself free of the disease that has swept the world - but pictures showed the generals all gathered close together for a group photo, none of them wearing masks.

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On the 67th anniversary of the Korean War armistice in 1953, North Korea released the above image showing the nation's leader - Kim Jong Un - surrounded by gun-toting army generals and senior officers. The guns were awarded to them to mark the occasion 

In Seoul, scores of veterans - in facial coverings and socially distanced seats - attended a ceremony paying tribute to their efforts, themed 'Days of Glory'.

On screen, dramatic reconstructions of the war were interspersed with interviews with foreign veterans, and messages of support from current leaders of the countries that sent troops to support the South, among them US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

Millions of people were killed during the three-year conflict - which began 70 years ago in 1950 when the Communist North invaded the US-backed South as leader Kim Il Sung - grandfather of the incumbent - sought to reunify by force the peninsula Moscow and Washington had divided at the end of World War II.

The Chinese and Soviet-backed North fought to a standstill against the South and a US-led United Nations coalition.

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Despite the North reporting its first case of the coronavirus, the generals, pictured above with Kim Jong Un, were seen standing close together and in close proximity with the country's supreme leader

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Kim Jong Un has made a limited number of public appearance in 2020. Speculation regarding the dictator's health was rife earlier in the year, while some have suggested Covid-19 has spread widely in the country, and that he is doing what he can to avoid catching it. Above, generals to the left of Kim Jong Un avoid pointing their handguns at him

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Despite the first reported case in the country, Kim Jong Un and his generals did not wear face masks in the photos provided by the country's state news agency. Above, Kim Jong Un visits the Fatherland Liberation War Martyrs Cemetery in Pyongyang to mark the 67th anniversary of the 'Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War', as it is known in The North

Hostilities ended on July 27, 1953 with a ceasefire that has never been replaced by a peace treaty.

The North has subsequently built up a nuclear arsenal that it says it needs to protect itself against a US invasion, and has been subjected to multiple international sanctions as a result.

Pyongyang regards the conflict - which it calls the Glorious Fatherland Liberation War - as a victory and the official news agency KCNA reported that Kim presented his generals at the weekend with 'commemorative pistols bearing his august name in token of his trust'.

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Meanwhile in South Korea, at a ceremony in Seoul on Monday, Korean War veterans attended a ceremony to mark the 67th anniversary of the armistice, and were seen socially distancing from one-another while wearing masks

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Pictured: Members of a military honour guard hold the flags of participating nations during a ceremony of UN Forces Participation Day on July 27, 2020 in Seoul

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Seoul's futuristic Zaha Hadid-designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza (pictured) saw dramatic reconstructions of the war interspersed with interviews with foreign veterans, and messages of support from current leaders of the countries that sent troops to support the South

The weapons were named after Mount Paektu, the dormant volcano on the Chinese-Korean border that is regarded as the spiritual birthplace of the Korean people.

In the pictures, the chief of the general staff Vice Marshal Pak Jong Chon, who was sitting to Kim's right, carefully pointed his pistol upwards rather than towards the leader.

In Seoul's futuristic Zaha Hadid-designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza, General Robert Abrams, the commander of UN Command and US Forces Korea, said the war was 'a great tragedy in human history' that 'left the Korean peninsula in rubble' and 'caused immense suffering for the Korean people'.

The US stations 28,500 troops in the South and he added: 'Freedom is not free and neither is peace.' 

Kim Jong Un has been seen in public only a handful of times this year amid speculation of poor health, or that he is trying to avoid catching coronavirus, which observers believe has been spreading widely in North Korea for some time despite official denials.

North Korea has reportedly received thousands of coronavirus testing kits from Russia and other countries, and imposed strict border closures, with the country being almost totally closed off since January 30.

Thousands of people in North Korea were quarantined, but restrictions had recently eased, however on Wednesday, it emerged that North Koreans will reportedly be subjected to three months of hard labour for not wearing Covid-19 face masks under tough new rules.

In July, Kim Jong Un ended a month-long absence from public view as he appeared at a meeting of the country's political bureau, during which he  praised North Korea's 'shining success' in fighting coronavirus.