The attention-getting event is the Government's way of showing the world and its own people the Kim dynasty, now in its third generation, is firmly in control and its military a power to be reckoned with.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marked the anniversary by paying respect to his late father and grandfather at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The military parade kicking off the celebrations could hold surprises for analysts abroad who will be watching the display of weaponry very closely, particularly North Korea's growing fleet of drone aircraft and long-range missiles.
Although no world leaders will be attending, the normally isolated and quiet North Korean capital has been flooded with tourists, international media and delegations ranging from ethnic Koreans living abroad to obscure Russian and Mongolian groups dedicated to studying North Korea's political ideas.
Suggesting that the show will indeed go on, crowds of people carrying bouquets of plastic flowers could be seen streaming to Kim Il Sung Square, where the event will be held. Military vehicles or possibly floats shrouded in blue plastic tarps to protect them against the weather were parked in a long row on a bridge leading to the parade route.
Even though North Korean officials did not divulge details of the day's plans, open-source satellite imagery has been monitoring large-scale troop activities at the Mirim military air base in Pyongyang, which has been rigged with a mock-up of Kim Il Sung Square. Masses of Pyongyang citizens have for weeks been in public plazas across the city practising their roles for a torchlight parade in the evening.
For the finale, a stage has been set up on a river running through central Pyongyang for a late-night concert featuring North Korea's most popular musical group, the all-female Moranbong Band.
The spectacle promises to be the most elaborate since Kim Jong Un assumed power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in late 2011, and the satellite imagery suggests the military parade could be the country's biggest ever.
Though military parades were out of fashion until about a decade ago, North Korea's leadership often uses anniversaries to rally the nation behind the military or the party, while reinforcing the primacy of the leader.
China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that China's delegate Liu Yunshan told Kim that China was willing to work with North Korea for a resumption of six-party nuclear talks. The talks, which aim to end the North's nuclear programme and also involve the US, South Korea, Russia and Japan, stalled seven years ago.
