PYONGYANG, North Korea — Red flags fluttered across the capital today as North Korea prepared for its biggest parade ever.

The Sunday parade is expected to serve as the public debut of future leader Kim Jong Un.

Officially, the parade marks the 65th anniversary of the communist nation's ruling Workers' Party. However, this year's celebration comes less than two weeks after Kim Jong Il's re-election to the party's top post and the news that his 20-something son would succeed his father and grandfather as leader.

"This is a very important event because it's being held after Kim Jong Un's debut as heir-apparent," said Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor of North Korean studies at Korea University in Seoul.

The weekend of festivities began Friday night with fireworks over central Pyongyang. Students danced across the city's plazas and brass bands played.

Activities culminate Sunday with the massive parade through the streets, the largest in the country's history, North Korean officials said. It will feature a phalanx of tanks, more than 16,000 troops and a display of the regime's prized missiles.