Kim and Putin to travel to Beijing in September for military parade

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will travel to Beijing in September for a military parade, the Chinese government said on Thursday, in one of his rare trips abroad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will also attend the military parade in Beijing on September 3, which commemorates Japan's formal surrender to the Allied forces in 1945 and is considered the end of World War II in China.

China and North Korea are friendly neighbours and Beijing warmly welcomes Kim, said Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei.

Hong stressed that Beijing and Pyongyang fought together in World War II, adding that China is prepared to strengthen cooperation with North Korea and promote peace in the region.

Kim rarely travels abroad. Since the coronavirus pandemic, the North Korean ruler has only left the country once, in September 2023, for a summit with Putin. The meeting took place in Russia's Far East, around 100 kilometres from the border with China.

Kim's last visit to China was in January 2019, when he met Xi Jinping for talks in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

In total, Beijing is expecting 26 foreign leaders to attend the commemorations. According to Chinese sources, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico are expected to travel from Europe.