North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit China to attend a military parade next week, according to the two countries on Thursday. This will mark his first visit since six years, and the event is expected to be the first time Kim will be brought together with a group of world leaders for the first time since taking office in late 2011.
Among the 26 international leaders who are expected to be in attendance are Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The parade on Wednesday in Beijing will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s resistance against Japan’s wartime aggressions, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, reports UNB/AP.
“We warmly welcome General Secretary Kim Jong Un to China to attend the commemorative events,” Hong Lei, China’s assistant minister of foreign affairs, told a press conference. “Upholding, consolidating and developing the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK is a firm position of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government.”
DPRK refers to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.
North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, reported Kim will visit China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the war’s end, but no details about the duration of his stay or potential meetings with leaders were revealed.
Leaders from Iran, Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Malaysia are expected to participate in the upcoming parade. However, no leaders from the United States or major Western European nations are anticipated to attend, partly due to ongoing tensions with Putin over the conflict in Ukraine. The event is expected to showcase some of China’s latest military technology, with a speech by Xi Jinping.
If Kim Jong-un follows through with his planned visit, it will mark his first trip to China since 2019. He previously traveled to China four times between 2018 and 2019 for meetings with Xi.
Kim has met with several global leaders, including Xi, Putin, US President Donald Trump, former South Korean President Moon Jae-in, among others. However, he has yet to attend a multilateral event involving foreign heads of state.
Although North Korea’s biggest trading partner and main aid provider is China, the strength of their cooperation has invited scrutiny in recent years as North Korea expands its trade with Russia by supplying troops and ammunition in support for the Ukraine war, in exchange for economic and military assistance. However, whether Russia and North Korea will cooperate to this level once the war ends is also up for questioning. In 2023, about 97% of North Korea’s external trade was with China, while 1.2% was with Russia, according to Chinese data.