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Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing by special train to attend China’s WWII surrender anniversary parade. Before departure, he visited a missile lab in Pyongyang.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un (L) as he departs from Pyongyang by special train to visit China on Sept 1, 2025 (Photo: AFP)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday arrived in China on a special train, which, according to Reuters, appeared similar to the bulletproof train he had earlier used to travel to other countries.
According to the North Korean state media, Kim arrived in China to attend the country’s celebration of the formal surrender of Japan in World War Two, and is expected to attend the military parade in Beijing on Wednesday.
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He would be joined by Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
In some photographs, Kim could be seen with his entourage, including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who has been involved in Pyongyang’s diplomacy on weapons developments for more than two decades.
In one photograph, Kim can be seen standing next to the dark green train with a cigarette in his hand.
In another, the North Korean leader could be seen seated at a desk inside the train with a North Korean flag behind him and with a closed laptop computer in a carriage ornately furnished with wood panelling.
Kim left Pyongyang for China on Monday and would be attending the largest multilateral diplomatic event he has ever been to.
Before crossing into China, Kim on Monday visited a missile laboratory that is researching carbon fibre composite materials to be used in engines for intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media KCNA said.
Kim’s visit to a missile laboratory just ahead of the multilateral summit appeared highly symbolic, Reuters quoted experts as saying.
The visit is geared toward “showing off (North Korea’s) status as a nuclear power” just before “standing alongside Xi and Putin, which is intended to suggest support for North Korea as a nuclear state,” it quoted Hong Min, North Korea analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, as saying.
Hong said it also sent a message to the United States about North Korea’s “will to advance nuclear weapons and the status of a nuclear power that is difficult to reverse.”
THE MILITARY PARADE IN CHINA
Beijing’s Tiananmen Square will mark 80 years since the end of World War II, when China will also showcase its military prowess with troops marching in formation, flypasts and other high-tech fighting gear.
Millions of Chinese people were killed during a prolonged war with imperial Japan in the 1930s and 40s, which became part of a global conflict following Tokyo’s attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941.
China has touted the parade as a show of unity with other countries, and Kim’s attendance will be the first time he is seen with Xi and Putin at the same event.
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About the Author
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
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