North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare and symbolic journey out of his country on September 1, 2025, departing Pyongyang late in the evening aboard his signature armored train. Destination: Beijing. His arrival near the Beijing station at around 5 p.m. Korean time on September 2 marked not only his first visit to China since 2019 but also the first time in over six decades that a North Korean leader has attended an international event of such scale, according to Yonhap News and Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim’s trip, accompanied by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, his daughter Kim Ju-ae—making her international debut—and other senior officials, was timed for a grand occasion: a massive Chinese military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. The parade, scheduled for September 3, 2025, is more than just a spectacle of military might; it’s a convergence of world leaders, power politics, and shifting alliances.
According to ABC Audio, Kim is set to join Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Chinese capital, where the trio will stand shoulder to shoulder with 26 other world leaders. The event, which one analyst dubbed the “axis of upheaval,” is expected to showcase not just China’s military prowess but also the increasingly close ties between Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang—three capitals often at odds with Washington and its allies.
Xi Jinping, welcoming Putin as an “old friend,” underscored the deepening relationship between China and Russia. During their meetings on September 1 and 2, the two leaders signed more than 20 bilateral cooperation documents, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. Putin, in his remarks, said, “Our close communication reflects the strategic nature of Russia-China relations, which are at an unprecedentedly high level. We were always together then, and we remain together now.”
The military parade itself is set to be a grand affair. Thousands of soldiers will march through Beijing’s streets, with rumbling tanks and powerful fighter jets on display—a show of force marking 80 years since the defeat of Japan in World War II. The event is not just about history, though; it’s about the present and future balance of power in Eurasia and beyond.
Kim’s attendance is particularly notable. As France 24 highlighted, it marks the first time in his 14-year rule that he will take part in a major multilateral event, and the first time he, Xi, and Putin have gathered at the same venue. North Korea’s foreign policy has increasingly prioritized Russia in recent years, with Pyongyang sending around 15,000 troops to Russia since last fall, according to South Korean intelligence. About 2,000 of those troops are believed to have died in combat as of early September 2025. Kim has also agreed to send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia’s Kursk region, with the first 1,000 already deployed, France 24 reported. In exchange, North Korea has sought economic and military assistance from Moscow.
This deepening military collaboration has not gone unnoticed in the West. Ukrainian and NATO officials have accused North Korea of supplying significant amounts of ammunition and troops to bolster Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. China, meanwhile, has been identified as Moscow’s prime source of materiel and a crucial economic lifeline, especially as Western sanctions have attempted to choke off Russia’s access to global markets.
Putin, speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin on September 1, repeated familiar Russian narratives, blaming the West for the conflict in Ukraine. He claimed the war began with a Western-sponsored “coup” and “attempts by the West” to “pull Ukraine into NATO.” These remarks, echoing long-standing Kremlin talking points, were delivered just before Putin and Xi met to finalize their latest round of agreements.
Among the most significant deals signed in Beijing was an agreement to build the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which will enable Russia to send up to 50 billion cubic meters of gas annually to China through Mongolia over the next 30 years. As The Guardian reported, this deal further cements China’s role as a vital economic partner for Russia, providing an economic lifeline since the Ukraine war began. China also announced it would extend visa-free travel privileges to Russian passport holders starting September 15, a gesture of goodwill that highlights the growing ease of movement between the two nations.
Putin’s diplomatic dance in Beijing extended beyond China and North Korea. He also met with Slovakia’s Moscow-friendly prime minister, Robert Fico—the only EU leader in attendance—praising Slovakia’s “independent” position and even suggesting the country cut off gas supplies to Ukraine. “Ukraine receives a significant volume of energy resources through its neighbours in eastern Europe. Shut off gas supplies that go in reverse,” Putin told Fico, according to The Guardian.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also in town for the SCO summit, holding separate talks with both Xi and Putin. Modi later posted on X that he had an “excellent meeting” with Putin, discussing ways to deepen cooperation in trade, fertilizers, space, security, and culture, as well as the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. This outreach comes at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on all Indian goods, bringing the total to 50%, in response to India’s ongoing purchases of Russian energy and military equipment.
Amid all this, Kim Jong Un’s visit to China is also about mending fences. Relations between Pyongyang and Beijing have reportedly soured in recent years, but China remains North Korea’s largest trading partner and aid benefactor. Experts suggest Kim is eager to restore these ties, especially as he braces for the potential end of the Russia-Ukraine war and seeks to diversify his diplomatic options.
Back in Washington and Seoul, leaders have expressed hopes of restarting talks with North Korea. Both President Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung have signaled a willingness to engage, but Pyongyang has been expanding its nuclear and missile arsenals since the collapse of earlier diplomacy in 2019, showing little appetite for renewed negotiations.
As the world watches the parade in Beijing, the gathering of Kim, Xi, and Putin sends a clear message: the global order is shifting, and new alliances are being forged in plain sight. The sight of North Korea’s leader standing alongside his Chinese and Russian counterparts—amid tanks, jets, and the echo of history—underscores the rising coordination among nations that have long challenged the West. Whether this unity will last, or what it will mean for the world’s flashpoints, remains to be seen. But for now, Beijing is the stage for a rare show of strength and solidarity among some of the world’s most closely watched leaders.