A special parade was held outside of Pyongyang for the first time on 6 June 1972 in the northeastern border city of Hyesan, Ryanggang Province. It commemorated the 35th anniversary of the Battle of Pochonbo, during which the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, backed by the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, defeated a Japanese detachment based in Pochon County. The parade was attended by President Kim Il Sung and was officiated by the party secretary for the province. Yi Yong-mu, a member of the Central Committee and later Director General of the General Political Bureau delivered a speech at the parade on Hyesan Square.