박보람
| 2025-09-02 11:05:26
(3rd LD) NK leader-China
(3rd LD) N. Korea's Kim on way to Beijing for military parade alongside Putin, Xi
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details, photo; RECASTS headline; TRIMS)
By Park Boram
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un crossed the border into China on early Tuesday as he headed for Beijing to attend a military parade that would mark his debut on the multilateral diplomatic stage and a possible three-way meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping.
The special armored train carrying Kim passed the North Korea-China border early Tuesday morning, according to the North's state media. Kim, Putin and Xi will be among some 25 leaders who attend the military parade as Beijing celebrates the end of World War II.
Reflecting his previous rail route during a 2019 visit to China, it is expected to take about 20 hours for the train to arrive in Beijing.
Kim's first visit to the Chinese capital since January 2019 comes as he seeks to improve traditional ties with China and boasts a deepening military alignment with Russia at a time when Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are tightening security cooperation.
"Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, left here for Beijing by his private train on Sept. 1 to participate in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War," the KCNA reported, citing a statement by the foreign ministry official.
The North Korean leader is accompanied by senior party and government officials, including Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, the official said. The KCNA did not mention others in Kim's entourage, such as his daughter Ju-ae and his wife Ri Sol-ju.
His trip to Beijing came after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
The anticipated juxtaposition this week of Kim alongside Xi and Putin could bring into sharp relief the splintering of the two geopolitical blocs -- one consisting of the U.S. and its key allies, and the other comprising China and its traditional partners.
Kim's visit to China is also expected to serve as an opportunity for his regime to reinforce solidarity with China and Russia, while easing its international isolation long driven by its quest to secure reliable nuclear and missile capabilities, and global sanctions against its weapons programs.
The spectacle of Kim standing with Xi and Putin at a military parade could also help strengthen his hand in future negotiations with the U.S. as U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced his openness to reengaging with the North Korean leader, observers said.
Moreover, Kim's move to improve relations with China could help ease Pyongyang's reliance on Moscow given that a heavy dependence on a single partner country could typically chip away at a weaker nation's autonomy in a bilateral relationship.
In a statement posted on the website of North Korea's foreign ministry on Tuesday, Vice Minister Pak Myong-ho expressed support and intent to strengthen cooperation with China in response to Xi's vision presented during a recent regional gathering.
Xi urged the democratization of international relations and pledged efforts to help raise the representation and voice of developing countries in his speech in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which kicked off on Sunday in China's Tianjin.
North Korea and China "have long supported each other with a joint stance opposing long-term dominance and subjugation as well as hegemony and power," Pak said in the statement, affirming that bilateral ties will further strengthen to safeguard international justice and equality.
(END)
[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]