North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un will attend a military parade in Beijing next week alongside Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China has said, in what will be a landmark visit.
This is Kim’s first multilateral international meeting, making the event a diplomatic win for China’s Xi Jinping who has been pushing for a new Beijing-led world order.
It allows Xi to signal his influence – although limited – on both Putin and Kim at a time when Washington is attempting to make a deal with Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump is not attending but said earlier this week that he wanted to meet Kim, whose growing nuclear arsenal and support for Russia have rattled the West.
China’s “Victory Day” parade will mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War Two and the end of the conflict.
Putin and Kim will be among 26 other heads of state who are expected to attend the parade. This is the first time a North Korean leader has attended a Chinese military parade since 1959.
China is likely to display its latest weaponry, including hundreds of aircraft, tanks and anti-drone systems. This will be the first time its military’s new force structure is being fully showcased in a parade.
The highly choreographed event will see tens of thousands of military personnel march in formation through the historic Tiananmen Square, with troops from 45 of the so-called echelons of China’s military as well as war veterans.
The 70-minute parade, which will be surveyed by Xi, is expected to be closely watched by analysts and western powers.
In a press conference given by China’s foreign ministry on Thursday, Beijing – one of Pyongyang’s closest allies – praised its neighbour for their decades-long “traditional friendship” and said the two countries will continue to collaborate on “regional peace and stability”.
Kim’s attendance is an upgrade from China’s last Victory Day parade in 2015, when Pyongyang sent one of its top officials, Choe Ryong-hae.
The North Korean leader rarely travels abroad. His recent contact with world leaders has been limited to Vladmir Putin, who he’s met twice since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Now this international pariah has the opportunity to appear on an international stage – while also strengthening his ties with China.
Kim generally likes to balance his relationship between Moscow and Beijing – so he’s not too reliant on either – but he hasn’t seen the Chinese leader for six years.
This year’s event will be significant because it means Xi can walk into any summit with Trump with more confidence, having been fully briefed by both leaders.
Next week’s meeting is also weeks before a possible visit by Trump to Asia, which the White House has hinted at but not confirmed. It has, however, said the US President is open to meeting Xi to finalise a tariffs deal, among other things.
It’s been six years since Kim visited Beijing – he last attended an event to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 2019.
He also visited Beijing three times in 2018, a particularly busy year for international trips given his reluctance to travel abroad.
Most Western leaders are not expected to attend the parade, due to their opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has driven the sanctions against Putin’s regime.
Beijing, however, has not criticised Putin’s war and has been accused by the US and its allies of even aiding it – which it denies. Kim, on the other hand, has supplied both weapons and troops to the Russian invasion.
The list of leaders attending the parade also reflects China’s rise and its changing relationship with the world.
The Indonesia president and Malaysian prime minister will be there, which is further proof of Beijing’s concerted efforts to ramp up ties with neighbouring South East Asia. Others like Singapore are sending lower- level representatives.
Myanmar’s military ruler Min Aung Hliang, an international pariah who is hugely dependent on Chinese trade and aid, will also be attending.
There will be fewer European Union officials, with just one EU leader attending – Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico – while Bulgaria and Hungary will send representatives.
