Putin, Kim to join Xi at Tiananmen Square for China’s military parade

North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be among more than two dozen foreign leaders who will be attending China’s massive military parade next week. China’s foreign ministry on Thursday confirmed the news of both leaders’ participation.

The parade will be held on September 3 at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and is part of China’s commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II after Japan’s formal surrender. The announcement sets the stage for an extraordinary photo-op with the three autocratic leaders standing side by side atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing.

Meanwhile, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA confirmed Kim’s attendance, noting that it would be Kim’s first trip to China since 2019. It is pertinent to note that the North Korean Supreme Leader has only embarked on 10 foreign trips since assuming power in 2011.

The last time Kim left his hermit nation was back in 2023, when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a remote spaceport in Russia’s far east. Interestingly, confirmation of Kim’s attendance came just days after US President Donald Trump said that he would like to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year.

China prepares for pageantry

China will be flaunting its military might amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty as Trump upends American alliances and partnerships. The event is also coming amid China’s growing assertiveness over Taiwan and the overall Indo-Pacific region.

While speaking at a press conference, Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei said that a total of 26 foreign heads of state and government will attend the parade, including Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be in the Chinese city of Tianjin for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation this weekend, will not be attending the parade.

Myanmar’s junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, who is serving as that country’s acting president after a military coup toppled an elected government in 2021, will also attend the event while his country is still grappling with a major civil war. Other notable guests include Russia-friendly European leaders Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia and Slovakia’s Robert Fico.

While China was part of the Allied powers in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, leaders from the Western nations were absent from the guest list. China’s fight against Japan’s full-scale invasion became a major front of the war in Asia, ending only in 1945 with Japan’s surrender. However, the conflict continued in China between communist and nationalist forces until the former eventually came out on top in 1949, leading to the creation of the People’s Republic of China.

According to CNN, the 70-minute parade will feature more than 10,000 troops, over 100 aircraft and hundreds of pieces of ground equipment, showcasing China’s growing military power under Xi, who has made the modernisation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) a central mission of his rule.