Kim Jong Un, the autocratic leader of North Korea, attended the military parade held in Beijing on September 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of China’s victory in World War II. During the event, Kim stood next to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, demonstrating his leverage not only in the region but also in the relations between the two countries.
It was Kim’s first visit to Beijing since January 2019, during the broader period when the North Korean leader was engaging in nuclear talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. Russian President Vladimir Putin also attended China’s military parade. The leaders of China, Russia, and North Korea were gathered in the same place for the first time in 66 years.
Accompanied by his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, who is presumed to be Kim’s heir by intelligence agencies and pundits in South Korea and the United States, Kim Jong Un took a train to Beijing to attend the military parade. Although his daughter did not appear at the military parade, her presence in China further cements the opinion of outside experts that she will be Kim’s successor.
It was Kim’s first attendance at a major multinational diplomatic event. His past trips have all been purely focused on bilateral relationships. In a sign of his importance to China, Kim was seated directly next to Xi during the parade, with Putin on Xi’s other side.
For China, Wednesday’s military parade clearly showed its ambition to overhaul the international order, which has been designed and crafted by the United States after World War II. Amid growing strategic competition between the U.S. and China, North Korea and Russia have demonstrated that they are actively working to weaken the power and leverage of the U.S. and its allies.
Trump said the leaders of China, Russia, and North Korea “conspire” against the U.S. on his Truth Social account.
According to Russian news agencies, Putin held a meeting with Kim after the military parade. They last met in Pyongyang in June 2024.
During the meeting, Putin expressed his appreciation for the North Korean soldiers who participated in the war against Ukraine, especially in Russia’s Kursk region. According to news reports, around 15,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to assist Russia so far. North Korea has also supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by supplying ammunition, including short-range ballistic missiles.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, once denied the accusations from Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang was supplying weapons to Russia. In Beijing, Kim Jong Un called North Korea’s support to Russia the “obligation of a brother.”
Kim said that North Korea-Russia relations have been developed in every aspect, according to the Russian news agencies. While stressing the necessity to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in various fields, he also said North Korea will help Russia when it can.
Woo Won-shik, the speaker of South Korea’s National Assembly, also attended the event after accepting an invitation from Beijing. He said he would discuss peace on the Korean Peninsula with Kim when they meet up on the sidelines of the event, but based on current reports it appears their interaction was limited to a handshake and an exchange of a few words. In another sign of close North Korea-Russia ties, Putin offered to convey a message from Woo to Kim.
A month after South Korean President Lee Jae-myung assumed office, Kim Yo Jong clearly expressed Pyongyang’s hostility toward Seoul, even though Lee’s policy on North Korea is centered on dialogue and cooperation.
Lee has vowed to restore inter-Korean relations to make a peaceful Korean Peninsula where the two Koreas do not have to fight each other. In order to revive the deadlocked inter-Korean dialogue, the Lee administration has been working on inviting Kim to the APEC Summit meeting, which South Korea will host in November.
Just as former liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in utilized the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics to restore inter-Korean relations and persuade Trump to tackle North Korea’s nuclear threats, Lee is trying to use the upcoming APEC Summit as a stage for Trump to re-engage in dialogue with Kim. Touting Trump’s decision to have a meeting with Kim during his first term, Lee said he would work as a “pacemaker” if Trump can be a “peacemaker” on the Korean Peninsula during his August 25 meeting with Trump in the White House.
Although Trump expressed his continued interest in meeting with Kim, Pyongyang’s mistrust toward the United States and South Korea has clearly grown since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit between Trump and Kim in February 2019. Also, given that China and Russia are now backing North Korea’s nuclear build-up, it is apparent that dealing with North Korea’s nuclear issues will be an even more challenging task for Trump, even though North Korea has not ruled out the possibility of reunion between Trump and Kim.
North Korea perceives Seoul as an unreliable partner that has no power to lift sanctions against it. Whatever Lee’s efforts, Kim is unlikely make moves toward dialogue unless Trump makes concessions first that can be considered as meaningful gestures from Pyongyang.