SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea observed the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War by showing off its military might to the outside world in a parade through the center of the capital, Pyongyang, that featured columns of rocket tubes, goose-stepping paratroopers and intercontinental ballistic missiles, or at least mock-ups of the weapons.

When Kim Jong-un, the young leader, sauntered onto the reviewing stand in his trademark Mao suit, a sea of spectators cheered and waved flags and paper flowers as they filled a square named after the North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, his grandfather. As fighter jets screamed overhead, Mr. Kim clapped and chatted with Li Yuanchao, the visiting vice president of China, North Korea’s wartime ally.

The North Korean military has traditionally used large parades to swear its loyalty to the Kim family. But the spectacles have also been closely monitored by regional analysts and policy makers for clues about the state of the Kim dynasty’s arsenal.

Mr. Kim appeared to be eager to feed that hunger and display his country’s latest military hardware just months after a serious flare in tensions on the divided peninsula that included threats to stage nuclear attacks. As with other celebrations in the police state, this one was highly choreographed, and North Korea invited some international journalists to cover the events.