BEIJING: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will attend a major military parade in China next week commemorating eighty years since the end of World War II.
Both nations confirmed his participation on Thursday alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The event will showcase China’s latest military equipment and feature President Xi Jinping inspecting troops in Tiananmen Square.
Millions of Chinese citizens perished during the prolonged conflict with imperial Japan in the 1930s and 1940s.
Beijing’s Communist Party has organised numerous high-profile events in recent years to honour its wartime resistance.
Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Hong Lei announced Kim’s attendance during a press conference on Thursday morning.
“The Chinese people will join hands with the people of all countries to firmly defend the victories of World War II,“ Hong told reporters.
He added that “at present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and changes, with the deficit in world peace continuing to grow.”
Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency also confirmed the visit, stating Kim will be a guest “at the invitation of Comrade Xi Jinping.”
China remains North Korea’s most important ally, with their relationship forged during the Korean War in the 1950s.
Beijing has historically provided diplomatic, economic and political support to the isolated nation under international sanctions.
National University of Singapore associate professor Chong Ja Ian stated that Kim’s visit aims to demonstrate “the strength” of bilateral ties.
The visit would signal that “the United States cannot bully them into submission,“ Chong told AFP.
Nanyang Technological University assistant professor Dylan Loh noted there was “some talk previously that (North Korea) has gone closer to Moscow’s orbit at the expense of Beijing.”
“That may still unfold but I think Kim’s visit underlines the fact that this relationship is still going strong,“ Loh told AFP.
He added that “it will also further demonstrate the influence and pulling power of China.”
Assistant foreign minister Hong emphasised that developing “the traditional friendship” between both countries was Beijing’s “firm position.”
“China is willing to continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with North Korea...work closely in promoting regional peace and stability and safeguarding international fairness and justice,“ he added.
Kim last visited China in January 2019 for talks with Xi and had skipped Beijing’s 2015 parade.
Chinese official Zhao Leji visited North Korea in April last year as both nations marked seventy-five years of diplomatic relations.
Chinese tourists previously constituted the majority of foreign visitors to North Korea before border closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Recent research revealed North Korea has constructed a secret military base near its border with China potentially housing newest long-range ballistic missiles. – AFP
