Putin, Kim Jong Un to attend victory celebration in China
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Their attendance marks the first public appearance of the two leaders alongside President Xi Jinping in a show of collective defiance amid Western pressure.
PHOTO: REUTERS, AFP
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SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend a military parade in Beijing, marking the first public appearance of the two leaders alongside President Xi Jinping in a show of collective defiance amid Western pressure.
No Western leaders will be among the 26 foreign heads of state and government attending the parade next week – with the exception of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico – according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Aug 28.
Against the backdrop of China’s growing military might during the Victory Day parade on Sept 3, the three leaders will project a major show of solidarity not just between China and the Global South, but also with sanctions-hit Russia and North Korea.
Russia, which Beijing counts as a strategic partner, has been battered by multiple rounds of Western sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with its economy on the brink of slipping into recession. Mr Putin, wanted by the International Criminal Court, last travelled in China in 2024.
North Korea, a formal treaty ally of China’s, has been under UN Security Council sanctions since 2006 over its development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Mr Kim last visited China in January 2019.
Also attending will be Belarus’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Iran’s President Masoud Pezashkian, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik.
Asked whether Mr Woo would meet Mr Kim or any other North Korean officials in China, Mr Woo’s spokesperson said on Aug 28 there was no planned schedule so far.
South Korean presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik told reporters on Aug 28 that South Korea had been aware that Mr Kim was to attend.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said it was the first time Mr Kim was attending such a multilateral event, which could help in bringing him to the negotiating table.
“We have to keep putting in effort so North Korea can come to dialogue... to ultimately achieve North Korea’s denuclearisation,” he said.
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic will also attend the parade.
The UN will be represented by Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua, who previously served in various capacities at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, including time as the Chinese ambassador to Italy, San Marino and Myanmar.
Mr Xi and Mr Kim met several times in 2018 and 2019. Mr Kim visited China in January 2019 and Mr Xi travelled to Pyongyang and met Mr Kim in June 2019.
Since 2020 and through the Covid-19 pandemic, relations between North Korea and China also likely soured over issues such as China pushing for the repatriation of North Korean labourers, experts say.
During this period North Korea and Russia have also become closer militarily and Pyongyang has sent armaments and troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will also visit China to attend the military parade in Beijing next week, China’s Foreign Ministry said.
China’s Victory Day parade on Sept 3 is set to be a major projection of China’s growing military might and show of diplomatic solidarity between China, Russia and the Global South.
On the day, President Xi will survey tens of thousands of troops at Tiananmen Square alongside the foreign dignitaries and senior Chinese leaders.
The highly choreographed military parade, expected to be one of China’s largest in years, will showcase cutting-edge equipment like fighter jets, missile defence systems and hypersonic weapons. REUTERS
