Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, will take part in a massive military parade in China the following week to commemorate World War II’s 80th anniversary, both nations announced on Thursday.
The parade, which will feature Xi Jinping inspecting troops in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, will also feature some 26 leaders, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In the 1930s and 1940s, a protracted conflict between China and imperial Japan, which led to the Japanese’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, which resulted in the killing of millions of Chinese people.
In recent years, Beijing’s Communist Party has held a number of eminently significant events to honor its wartime resistance and pledge that China will never be brought to its knees again.
Ground troops will march in formation during the September 3 parade, along with armoured columns, aerial echelons, and other high-tech fighting equipment.
China has hailed the parade as a demonstration of regional unity.
Hong Lei, Beijing’s assistant foreign affairs minister, made Kim’s announcement at a press conference on Thursday morning.
According to Hong, “The Chinese people will join forces with the people of all nations to steadfastly defend the victories of World War II.”
The current global environment is characterized by intertwined turbulence and changes, with a growing global peace deficit, he continued.
Kim will be a guest at “Comrade Xi Jinping’s invitation,” according to Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency, which also made the announcement.
“Cannot Be Bullied,” p.
North Korea’s most important ally, which was formed during the Korean War’s bloodshed in the 1950s.
Beijing has historically supported the nation, which is still subject to stringent international sanctions.
Kim’s upcoming trip to Beijing is intended to demonstrate “the strength” of relations between the two nations, according to Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.
According to Chong, the visit would show that “the United States cannot force them to submit.”
According to Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, “somerumors have been made that (North Korea) has recently gotten closer to Moscow’s orbit at the expense of Beijing.”
“I think Kim’s visit underscores the fact that this relationship is still going strong,” Loh told AFP.
He continued, “It will also demonstrate China’s influence and pull” more strongly.
‘Traditional Friendship’  ,
Beijing’s “firm position” is “developing the traditional friendship” between the two nations, according to Assistant Foreign Minister Hong.
China and North Korea “could continue to strengthen their cooperation and exchanges and cooperate closely in promoting regional harmony, stability, and ensuring international fairness and justice,” he continued.
The North Korean leader skipped Beijing’s 2015 parade to make a trip to China in January 2019 to meet with Xi.
In April of last year, China’s third-highest official Zhao Leji traveled to North Korea in celebration of their 75-year diplomatic partnership.
Before China closed its borders during the Covid-19 pandemic, the isolated nuclear power used to host the majority of foreign visitors and business travelers.
