Donald Trump has hailed his diplomatic progress with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying there is “nothing like good dialogue from two people that like each other”.

The US president made the comments just hours after the regime in Pyongyang hosted a military parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the nation’s founding. Conspicuously missing from the display of martial prowess, however, were the country’s intercontinental ballistic missiles — an absence that was interpreted by experts as well as Mr Trump as a sign of the regime’s more conciliatory attitude towards Washington.

“Thank you To Chairman Kim. We will both prove everyone wrong! There is nothing like good dialogue from two people that like each other! Much better than before I took office,” the president wrote on Twitter after the display, which featured thousands of goose-stepping troops and an array of heavy weaponry, including artillery and short-range missiles.