Thousands of North Korean veterans vowed Friday to uphold the military-first policy and remain loyal to new leader Kim Jong-un in a rally marking what the North calls its victory in the 1950-53 conflict.

The indoor rally in Pyongyang drew about 3,000 war veterans with decorations on their chests, state television showed.

"We must absolutely follow respected leader Kim Jong-un and defend him with our lives," vice marshal Choe Ryong-hae said in a speech, adding the North's military is ready to crush enemy forces if attacked.

Across the country, soldiers, workers and students laid floral baskets and bouquets before the statues of late founding leader Kim Il-sung who died in 1994 and his son Kim Jong-il who died last December, state media said.

The Korean War ended on July 27, 1953, with an armistice, leaving some 2 to 3 million soldiers and civilians dead.

The truce was never followed by a peace treaty, and the two Koreas are still technically at war.

"Pyongyang has been wrapped in a festive mood to greet the participants in the great Fatherland Liberation War who are here thanks to the deep loving care of Kim Jong-un," the official news agency said.