(2nd LD) N. Korea's Kim to attend China's military parade next week

▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their summit meeting in Pyongyang on June 20, 2019, in this file photo published by the Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

▲ This file image shows preparations under way for China's military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, scheduled for Sept. 3, 2025. (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) NK leader-China

(2nd LD) N. Korea's Kim to attend China's military parade next week

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES throughout with more info, photo)

By Park Boram

SEOUL, Aug. 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will attend China's 80th anniversary of the end of World War II next week at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean and Chinese reports said Thursday.

China will hold a large-scale military parade Sept. 3 at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to mark the anniversary of what it describes as victory in the struggle against Japan in 1945.

Kim's rare overseas trip comes as North Korea and China show signs of restoring bilateral ties, fractured by Pyongyang's close alignment with Russia, following the deployment of North Korean troops to support Moscow's war with Ukraine.

Kim "will soon visit the People's Republic of China at the invitation of Xi Jinping ... 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 North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Concurrently, Hong Lei, China's assistant minister of foreign affairs, announced that Kim will attend the Sept. 3 military parade marking the anniversary, listing him among state leaders from 26 foreign countries scheduled to attend at Xi's invitation.

The guests include Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Korea's Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, as well as leaders from Vietnam, Indonesia and Iran, in addition to officials from the United States, France and Britain.

Hong welcomed Kim's scheduled attendance, saying that China is willing to strengthen cooperation with North Korea to promote regional peace and safeguard international justice in order to "write a new chapter" in their traditional friendship.

Since taking power in 2011, Kim has visited China four times, three in 2018 and once in 2019, and during all of these visits, he held meetings with Xi.

If the upcoming visit takes place as announced, it will mark Kim's first appearance at an international gathering, effectively serving as his debut on the stage of multilateral diplomacy.

It will also mark the first time that Kim, Xi and Putin come together at a time when their countries align to form a joint front against the strengthening trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan to counter shared threats.

A key point of attention will also be whether the North's leader encounters the South Korean assembly speaker, who will attend the Sept. 3 ceremony as the highest-ranking representative from South Korea.

China had initially explored the possibility of President Lee Jae Myung attending, but Seoul decided to send Woo, the second-ranking official in protocol, in consideration of its ties with the U.S.

Since taking office in June, Lee has consistently extended overtures to resume dialogue and improve ties with North Korea, although Pyongyang has squarely rejected them.

Many observers, however, see little possibility of a meeting between Kim and Woo, as Pyongyang's hostility toward Seoul remains unabated.

Seoul is also reportedly leaning toward the possibility of inviting Kim to the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, set to begin in late October in South Korea's Gyeongju.

During Lee's summit with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week, Trump said he wants to meet Kim again this year, and Seoul is looking to use the APEC summit to arrange a meeting between the two leaders.

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