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| 2025-09-03 16:34:41
(News Focus) NK leader-military parade
(News Focus) Kim's presence in Beijing with Putin, Xi likely to offer diplomatic leverage
By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's rare appearance alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a massive military parade in Beijing is widely viewed as Kim's effort to showcase trilateral solidarity and potentially bolster his bargaining position against the United States.
At Tiananmen Square on Wednesday, the three leaders stood shoulder to shoulder and exchanged friendly conversations as they gathered to mark the 80th anniversary of what China celebrates as its victory over Japan and the end of World War II.
The event, marking Kim's first appearance on a major multilateral diplomatic stage, is viewed as a chance for Kim to demonstrate the restoration of the North's traditionally close ties with China and highlight its expanding military cooperation with Russia in the wake of the Ukraine war, while projecting himself as the leader of a normal state at home and abroad.
Kim may also seek to use the event as a bargaining chip ahead of a potential resumption of negotiations with Washington.
Before holding his summit talks with Trump in 2018 and 2019, Kim traveled to China to meet with Xi, in what was seen as an effort to secure Beijing's backing and underscore the North's ties with the superpower.
Observers say Kim may be weighing the possibility of another meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, while at the same time signaling his readiness to deepen security ties with Moscow and economic ties with Beijing rather than resume nuclear talks with the U.S.
The brief gathering, the first in 66 years to bring together the leaders of the three countries, takes place at a critical juncture as the world appears to be dividing into two geopolitical blocs -- one led by the U.S. and the other by China -- with Washington rallying its allies to help deter Beijing's growing assertiveness.
Other experts who see direct denuclearization talks with Washington as a lesser priority for Pyongyang say Kim's trip is aimed more at seeking to restore ties with China, especially on the economic front in areas of food, energy and tourism.
They argue that the North may be shifting its alignment from Russia to China, with Trump trying to reach a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine to end the war.
Kim has drawn closer to Russia in recent years with the North signing a mutual defense treaty with Moscow and dispatching thousands of troops to fight in Ukraine.
With Trump's effort to end the Ukraine war, Kim may have calculated that he will have less leverage with Moscow and more with China, which can provide more practical benefits to address the North's economic problems.
Speaking on a KBS news program, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said North Korea has grown extremely close to Russia recently but that "they have probably learned Russia's limits."
Shin Bong-sup, a former consul general at the South Korean Consulate in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, also stressed that the North urgently needs to strengthen ties with China to address its domestic economic problems.
"For China, Kim Jong-un served as a useful showpiece in the confrontation with the U.S., so their interests were aligned," he said.
Kim's trip comes as President Lee Jae Myung and Trump have expressed their hopes to resume talks with the North.
North Korea has avoided nuclear talks since its last one with Washington collapsed without an agreement in 2019.
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