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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be in China next week for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Kim’s visit will be his first to China since 2019 (Kremlin Photo via AP)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to attend a military parade in Beijing next week, joining Russian President Vladimir Putin and other global leaders, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency. The event will mark Kim’s first participation in a multilateral international gathering, signalling a diplomatic victory for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Kim’s visit will be his first to China since 2019, while Putin last visited the country in 2024. The upcoming parade, scheduled for September 3, commemorates the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II and the formal end of the conflict. It will be held in Beijing’s iconic Tiananmen Square and is expected to feature thousands of military personnel, as well as displays of China’s most advanced military hardware.
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The meeting between Xi, Putin, and Kim comes at a time of heightened global geopolitical manoeuvring. While the United States continues trade negotiations with China, it is also working to pressure Moscow to de-escalate its war in Ukraine. US President Donald Trump will not attend the Beijing parade, though he expressed earlier this week his interest in meeting Kim, as North Korea remains a vocal supporter of Russia in the ongoing conflict.
Earlier this year, speculation had circulated about Kim attending a military parade in Moscow’s Red Square. However, he ultimately did not attend, instead sending top military generals responsible for overseeing North Korea’s troop deployment in Russia’s Kursk region.
The ‘Victory Day’ parade in China will be attended by 26 world leaders, though notably absent are leaders from Western nations, with the sole exception being Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico. Among other expected attendees are Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Iranian President Masoud Pezashkian, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be in China next week for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. However, it remains unclear whether he will attend the parade itself.
According to a report by the BBC, the high-profile gathering between Xi, Putin, and Kim comes just weeks ahead of a potential visit to Asia by President Trump. While the White House has signalled interest in the trip, it has not confirmed any dates. It has, however, indicated that Trump is open to meeting Xi to finalise a trade and tariffs agreement.
- Location :
Beijing, China
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