North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in Beijing for military parade with Putin and Xi
Kim Jong Un arrived at the Beijing railway station and was greeted by senior Chinese officials.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Beijing, the official Korean Central News Agency said on Tuesday.
Kim Jong Un arrived at the Beijing railway station and was greeted by senior Chinese officials.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency released a photo of a smiling Mr Kim, dressed in a black suit and red tie, stepping off his train at the Beijing station.
Mr Kim is to attend a military parade in Beijing on Wednesday with his Chinese and Russian counterparts, an event that experts say could potentially demonstrate three-way unity against the United States.
Mr Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the 26 world leaders who will join Chinese President Xi Jinping to watch Wednesday’s massive military parade in Beijing that commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and China’s fight against Japan’s wartime aggression.
It is set to be Mr Kim’s first time attending a major multilateral event during his 14-year rule, and the first time the three leaders have gathered at the same venue. None of the three countries have confirmed a private trilateral leaders’ meeting.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported early on Tuesday that Mr Kim left Pyongyang for Beijing by his special train on Monday to participate in the celebrations.
KCNA, citing Foreign Ministry official Kim Chon Il, said that he was travelling with top officials including foreign minister Choe Son Hui.
In a closed-door briefing to lawmakers, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said Mr Kim’s train entered China early on Tuesday.
The intelligence service said Mr Kim will likely receive special protocol and security measures on par with those given to Mr Putin, according to Lee Seong Kweun, a lawmaker who attended the meeting.
The spy agency said Mr Kim may stand alongside Mr Xi and Mr Putin on the rostrum at Tiananmen Square during Wednesday’s parade, and anticipated that he will hold bilateral meetings with the Chinese and Russian leaders and interact with other heads of state at a reception and cultural performance as he seeks to break out of isolation and expand his diplomatic relations, Mr Lee said.
Mr Kim’s trip marks his first visit to China since 2019 and the fifth visit in total since he inherited power on his father’s death in late 2011.
Mr Putin arrived in China on Sunday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional summit, as well as the Beijing parade.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told Russia’s TASS news agency on Sunday that a meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Kim on the sidelines was “under consideration”.
North Korea observers are paying keen attention to Mr Kim possibly meeting Mr Xi bilaterally as well and holding even a trilateral meeting with Mr Xi and Mr Putin.
North Korea’s foreign policy priority has been Russia in recent years as it has been supplying troops and ammunition to support Russia’s war against Ukraine in exchange for economic and military assistance.
According to South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops to Russia.
In its latest briefing to lawmakers, the South Korean spy agency said it believes roughly 2,000 of them have died in combat, Mr Lee said.
Mr Kim has also agreed to send thousands of military construction workers and de-miners to Russia’s Kursk region, and the agency assesses that the first 1,000 are already in Russia.
North Korea’s relations with China have reportedly turned sour in recent years, but experts say Mr Kim likely hopes to restore ties as China is North Korea’s biggest trading partner and aid benefactor and he would want to brace for the end of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Before departing for China on Monday, Mr Kim visited a North Korean missile research institute to review progress on developing a new engine for a “next-generation” intercontinental ballistic missile, KCNA reported.
The North in recent years has tested various versions of ICBMs capable of reaching the US mainland, and analysts say the next-generation ICBM likely refers to a long-range weapon with multiple nuclear warheads that can defeat US missile defence systems.
