Nairobi, Kenya- North Korea’s Kim Jong Un will step onto the international stage next week when he attends a highly choreographed military parade in Beijing — his first global-level gathering with other leaders in years.
China confirmed Kim’s participation on Thursday, noting the event will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the victory over Japan.
The “Victory Day” parade is set to bring together at least 26 heads of state, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, in a show of military and diplomatic muscle through Tiananmen Square.
Beijing’s Big Stage
For China, this is no ordinary parade. President Xi Jinping will preside as tens of thousands of troops, war veterans, and 45 echelons of the People’s Liberation Army march in formation.
Hundreds of tanks, aircraft, and new anti-drone systems are expected to be showcased — the first full display of China’s revamped force structure.
Analysts say the images of Xi flanked by Putin and Kim will be both symbolic and strategic. It cements Beijing’s role as a key broker in Asia at a time when Washington is eyeing its own high-level meetings in the region.
Xi’s Geopolitical Win
The timing couldn’t be sharper. Just days ago, U.S. President Donald Trump floated the idea of another meeting with Kim while also seeking a deal with Putin to end the war in Ukraine. By bringing both men to his capital, Xi is sending a clear signal: he has the ear of leaders Washington wants to engage with.
The White House has suggested Trump could be in Asia later in October for talks with Xi.
If that meeting happens, the Chinese leader will enter those discussions already briefed — directly or indirectly — by Kim and Putin.
Old Friends, New Optics
Beijing described Kim’s visit as proof of the countries’ “traditional friendship,” a phrase often used to frame their decades-long alliance. It also marks an upgrade in Pyongyang’s participation compared to 2015, when North Korea sent only a senior official. Kim last visited China in 2019, after a busy year of diplomacy in 2018.
Western leaders, however, are unlikely to attend. Many remain wary of standing beside Putin amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. Japan has even urged global leaders to skip the event, calling it “anti-Japanese in tone.”
Will Seoul Show Up?
One wildcard remains: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. Invited but undecided, his presence could spark the first face-to-face moment between North and South Korea’s leaders since ties collapsed in 2019.
Lee has made no secret of his desire to talk to Kim and even asked Trump earlier this week to act as a peacemaker. Yet Pyongyang has dismissed his overtures, with state media branding him a “confrontational maniac” just yesterday.
If Lee attends and Kim snubs him in public, the fallout could be diplomatically embarrassing. And with Putin, Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko, and Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi all expected, the optics of standing alongside that line-up may prove too risky for Seoul.
For now, China has secured the photo-op it wanted: three powerful but unpredictable leaders sharing the same stage.
