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Weapons wielded by North Korean troops at vast military parades are fakes, says western intelligence.

The bankrupt regime wants the world to believe its forces are well-armed and combat-ready – but an analyst thinks it is bluffing by issuing plastic guns and rockets for the public displays.

Even sun glasses worn by despot Kim Jong-un ’s elite troops are flat-lensed – making them useless in battle, as they give little sun-glare protection.

The ruse was rumbled by former US intelligence officer Michael Pregent on examining images of a huge-scale parade in the capital Pyongyang on April 15.

These appeared to show thousands of “commandos” carrying AK-47 assault rifles with attached grenade-launchers.

(Image: Reuters) (Image: Eyevine)

But ex-spook Mr Pregent says many of the guns were toys and the launchers just bullet-storage magazines.

“This display was more about sending a message than being combat-effective,” he added.

North Korea is thought to have a major shortage of ammunition produced there – despite fears over its military ambitions and nuclear war capability.

(Image: EPA)

Swathes of the secretive pariah nation are believed to have suffered terrible famine since the mid-1990s.

About half a million of its people died of starvation then and there have since even been reports of cannibalism.

Meanwhile, Kim continues to enjoy a lavish lifestyle and his secret police execute citizens on the merest hint of a plot.