[3] After the 1988 Summer Olympics had been awarded to Seoul, North Korea intensified its efforts to present itself as the legitimate Korean state.

[6][7] While the stadium is used for sporting events, it is more frequently the site of massive performances and shows celebrating President Kim Il Sung and the North Korean nation.

[11] In the September 2018 inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea gave a speech with Chairman Kim Jong Un to 150,000 North Korean spectators.

[12] In July 2019, Kim Jong Un hosted Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping to a special Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic performance called "Invincible Socialism", on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of China–North Korea relations.

On 31 December 2022, a concert was held on the grounds of the stadium, commemorating the New Year's Eve, which was presided over by Kim Jong Un and along with other high-profile Workers' Party of Korea officials.