Putin and Kim Jong Un to join Xi at Beijing military parade
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will attend a major military parade in Beijing next week, joining Chinese President Xi Jinping in a rare public display of unity against Western pressure.
The September 3 “Victory Day” parade, marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, is set to be one of China’s largest in years, showcasing fighter jets, missile defense systems, and hypersonic weapons. Xi will oversee the event from Tiananmen Square alongside foreign dignitaries and top Chinese officials, News.az reports, citing Reuters.
China’s foreign ministry said 26 world leaders will attend, though no Western heads of state are expected apart from Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Other attendees include Belarus’ Aleksandr Lukashenko, Iran’s Masoud Pezashkian, Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto, Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic, and South Korea’s parliamentary speaker Woo Won-shik.
The United Nations will be represented by Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua, a veteran Chinese diplomat.
For Putin, whose country faces heavy Western sanctions over the Ukraine war, the trip marks his first visit to China since 2024. Kim Jong Un, meanwhile, will make his first trip to China since 2019, as North Korea continues to be isolated under U.N. sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs.
Beijing has described Russia as a “strategic partner” and maintains a formal alliance with North Korea, underscoring the symbolic weight of the three leaders appearing together at the parade.
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