Kim Jong Un arrives in China, to join Xi and Putin at Beijing military parade

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in China by armoured train early Tuesday, heading to Beijing for a grand military parade where he will appear alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The spectacle, set for Wednesday in Tiananmen Square, will showcase China’s military might with marching troops, flypasts and cutting-edge weaponry, marking 80 years since the end of World War II. More than 25 world leaders are expected to attend.

The parade commemorates the devastating war China fought against imperial Japan in the 1930s and 40s, which merged into the global conflict after the Pearl Harbor attack. For Beijing, it is a moment of unity—and Kim’s presence marks the first time he will be seen with both Xi and Putin at the same event.

His journey was reported by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, citing North Korea’s state broadcaster KCBC. Kim’s appearance “formalises the China-Russia-North Korea trilateral (relationship) to the public,” Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst, told AFP.

Kim briefly grabbed global attention between 2018 and 2019, holding multiple summits with US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. But he retreated from diplomacy after talks with Trump collapsed in Hanoi in 2019. He stayed out of sight during the pandemic, resurfacing in 2023 for a meeting with Putin in Russia’s Far East.

Security in Beijing has visibly tightened, with military personnel on streets, road closures, white barricades along major avenues, and patriotic decorations across the city. Artworks with flowers, doves and the “1945–2025” emblem of the Great Wall have appeared, while Chinese flags flutter in neighbourhoods.

Though officials have not revealed what will be unveiled, observers believe new systems—including what some speculate could be a massive laser weapon—are expected to feature in the parade.