Known as the Day of the Sun in the nuclear-armed country, the April 15 birthday of the late Kim Il Sung -- grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un -- is one of the most important dates in Pyongyang's political calendar.
Analysts and South Korean and US officials had widely predicted a military parade or even a nuclear test, but the celebrations Friday involved a civilian parade, synchronised dancing and fireworks.
Photographs released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency showed thousands of colourfully dressed people marching through the capital's Kim Il Sung Square as Kim Jong Un looked on from a balcony.
"Columns of workers, peasant dancers and others marched past the square," carrying banners and boards bearing socialist slogans, and a giant national flag, KCNA said.
Three generations of the Kim family have ruled the country since 1948.
Kim also visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of Kim Il Sung and his son and successor Kim Jong Il lie in state.
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