South Korean media have reported that North Korea held a military parade in Pyongyang on Wednesday evening.

Yonhap News Agency writes the parade marks the 75th founding anniversary of the country's armed forces. It notes the military parade is the first to be held on a major scale since April last year.

It quotes a South Korean military official as saying the event took place at Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang following a pre-parade event that started at 8:30 p.m.

Whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended the event remains unclear. But Yonhap reports a record over 20,000 troops may have been mobilized, and new weapons may have been showcased.

Kim has said the country needs to mass-produce tactical nuclear weapons, "exponentially" increase production of nuclear warheads and develop a new intercontinental ballistic missile in 2023, the third year of its current five-year defense plan.

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party on Monday discussed "constantly expanding and intensifying the operation and combat drills" of the country's military "to cope with the prevailing situation and more strictly perfecting the preparedness for war."

It appears likely Pyongyang will announce on Thursday through state-run media it staged a military parade to draw attention to its stepping up of its nuclear and missile development.