Beijing: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is set to make his multilateral diplomatic debut by attending an upcoming military parade in China next month, marking an unprecedented appearance by the head of the reclusive state. Pyongyang and Beijing made simultaneous announcements that Kim will visit the Chinese capital for the September 3 event marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which China marks as its victory over Japan's aggression.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this will be Kim's first attendance at a multilateral gathering, joined by leaders of countries with amicable relationships with China, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim's planned attendance at the forthcoming event is considered very rare and unprecedented, as North Korea has maintained its unique leadership system in which its leader must be the central figure on any occasion.
Kim Il-sung, the current leader's grandfather and North Korea's founder, took part in many multilateral meetings, but neither Kim Jong-un nor his father and predecessor, Kim Jong-il, have ever traveled abroad for such events. Kim's decision to attend the military parade comes at a time when the North has been closely aligning with Russia on the military and other fronts since its troop deployments in support of Moscow's war against Ukraine.
For Kim, attending the event gives him a chance to stand alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin on Tiananmen Square, projecting himself at home and abroad as the leader of a normal state on a par with other world powers. "Kim can show off that there's a North Korea-China-Russia bloc established, that his regime is not a pariah in diplomacy," Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University, said by phone.
"And China certainly sees eye to eye with the North on this point, especially when South Korea is stepping up to cement its trilateral relationship with the United States and Japan," Park noted. China has expressed displeasure over President Lee Jae Myung's remarks during his trip to Washington earlier this week suggesting South Korea should align more closely with the U.S. on both security and the economy, which was seen as signaling a shift away from considering Beijing as a key economic partner.
To Trump, who met Kim multiple times during his first term, the North Korean leader can send a message that he will not easily resume personal diplomacy with Washington, as Pyongyang has the backing of China and Russia, despite Trump's repeated boasts of having a good relationship with Kim. "From China's perspective, Kim's attendance offers a chance to reaffirm its geopolitical influence on the Korean Peninsula, despite conciliatory overtures from Seoul and Washington," Park added.
Observers say Kim may also seek to use the event to mend strained ties with Beijing, as the North prepares to navigate its next steps after a possible end to the war in Ukraine. The key question now will be whether the leaders of North Korea, China, and Russia will hold a three-way summit during the anniversary celebrations. If held, the gathering would likely mark a symbolic post-Cold War moment, with the three neighbors closing ranks in response to the expanding cooperation between Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo.
Following the announcement of Kim's planned visit to China, the foreign ministry in Seoul said it expects relations between Pyongyang and Beijing will develop in the direction of "promoting peace, stability and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." The ministry reiterated that South Korea is open to resuming inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation.
It will mark Kim's first visit to China in six years, following his last trip in 2019, and the first attendance by a North Korean leader at the Chinese military parade in 66 years.