Kim Jong Un has reached Beijing aboard his armored train for a grand military parade, where he will join Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping. This gathering showcases the solidarity of the three nations at an anti-NATO event.

This uncommon journey by the North Korean leader marks his first visit to China in six years, highlighting the strengthening alliance among these countries as a direct challenge to Western powers.

The parade will take place on Wednesday in Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of World War II and China’s battle against Japan. 

Leaders from 26 countries are due to attend, including Kim and Putin, who will stand alongside Xi to watch the event. 

It will be the first time Kim has taken part in a major international gathering since he came to power 14 years ago. 

Officials have not confirmed if the three leaders will meet privately during the visit.

Kim left Pyongyang on Monday with senior figures, including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui. 

According to KCNA, Kim traveled in his specialized train, as noted by Foreign Ministry official Kim Chon Il. Since assuming leadership, Kim has favored this mode of transportation for visits to countries like Russia and Vietnam, owing to its capacity to host his extensive entourage.

South Korea’s intelligence service informed lawmakers that the train, moving slowly, entered China early Tuesday, with its anticipated arrival in Beijing this afternoon.

Lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun said the agency believes ‘Kim will likely receive special protocol and security measures on par with those given to Putin.’

The spy agency also suggested Kim could appear alongside Xi and Putin on the viewing platform at Tiananmen Square for the parade. 

Lee added that Kim is expected to hold talks with the Chinese and Russian leaders and join other world leaders at a reception and cultural show.

This trip is Kim’s first to China since 2019 and his fifth visit since taking over from his father in 2011.

Putin landed in China on Sunday to attend the parade and a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. He has since told his host that Russia’s relationship with China is at an ‘unprecedented level’.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told Russia’s TASS news agency on Sunday that a meeting between Putin and Kim on the sidelines was ‘under consideration.’

Observers are watching closely to see whether Kim meets Xi privately or even holds a three-way meeting with Xi and Putin. The leaders have held one-on-one talks before, but never a trilateral meeting.

North Korea has been strengthening its ties with Russia in recent years, sending weapons and ammunition to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine in return for economic and military help. Analysts say Kim would be hoping to restore relations with China, which have soured in recent times. 

Kim’s trip comes as Putin and Narendra Modi walked hand in hand as they arrived to meet Xi Jinping at the summit in China, aimed at challenging the West.

The Russian president and the Indian prime minister beamed as they strolled into the SCO talks, where Xi hosted more than 20 non-Western leaders. 

The summit was billed as an alternative to the US-led global system and was packed with displays of unity between Moscow, Beijing and Delhi.

The three leaders were later seen laughing together in a huddle in what appeared to be a show of solidarity against Washington and its allies.

Modi shared a photograph of himself with Putin inside the president’s armoured Aurus limousine after the summit. It was captioned: ‘Always a delight to meet President Putin. Conversations with him are always insightful.’

At their talks, Modi told Putin: ‘Even in the most difficult situations, India and Russia have always walked shoulder to shoulder. 

Putin responded warmly, saying in Russian: ‘Dear Mr Prime Minister, dear friend. Russia and India have maintained special relations for decades, friendly and trusting.’

In a direct jab at the US’ tariff policies, Xi opened the gathering saying: ‘We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics, and practice true multilateralism.’

He warned against divisions, telling leaders to ‘oppose Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation’ and to stand ‘against hegemonism and power politics’. He also hit out against ‘bullying behaviour’, all in jabs against the US. 

He said: ‘The shadows of Cold War mentality, bullying, are not dissipating, and there are new challenges that are increasing.’

‘Global governance has reached a new crossroads,’ he added, before pledging billions in aid and loans to member states and announcing plans for an artificial intelligence cooperation centre and a joint lunar research station.

Xi said China would provide 2 billion yuan in free aid and 10 billion yuan in loans to member states through an SCO banking consortium. 

The Chinese leader also hinted at creating a new SCO development bank, a move that could reduce dependence on the US dollar and weaken Washington’s ability to impose sanctions.

Putin endorsed Xi’s message, saying the SCO had revived ‘genuine multilateralism’ and was building ‘a new system of stability and security in Eurasia’.

He said: ‘This security system, unlike Euro-centric and Euro-Atlantic models, would genuinely consider the interests of a broad range of countries, be truly balanced, and would not allow one country to ensure its own security at the expense of others.’

The Kremlin leader again blamed NATO for the war in Ukraine, accusing the West of creating the crisis by trying to pull Kyiv into the alliance.

Putin said: ‘In order for a Ukrainian settlement to be sustainable and long-term, the root causes of the crisis, which I have just mentioned and which I have repeatedly mentioned before, must be eliminated.

He added that ‘a fair balance in the security sphere’ must be restored and claimed he was open to peace talks.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who is due to meet European leaders in Paris on Thursday, accused Putin of avoiding a one-on-one meeting that was agreed during his recent trip to Washington.

‘Now, during his visit to China, Putin will once again try to wriggle out. That is his number one sport. Everyone in the world has declared that the fire must cease. Everyone has insisted that the war must end. That has also been China’s position,’ Zelensky said.

China and India are the two biggest buyers of Russian oil, a crucial source of revenue for Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Donald Trump hit India with 50 per cent tariffs on some goods in retaliation, accusing Delhi of bankrolling Putin’s war effort, but so far neither India nor China has shown any sign of cutting energy imports from Russia.

Analysts say Trump’s approach may have pushed Modi closer to Moscow and Beijing as the three powers look to strengthen economic ties.

On Sunday, Xi told Modi: ‘The world is going towards transformation. China and India are two of the most civilisational countries. 

‘We are the world’s two most populous countries and part of the Global South. It is vital to be friends, a good neighbour, and the dragon and the elephant to come together.’

The summit was also an opportunity for Xi and Modi to repair relations after years of tension over a deadly border clash in 2020.

Xi told Modi: The world is going towards transformation. China and India are two of the most civilisational countries. 

‘We are the world’s two most populous countries and part of the Global South. It is vital to be friends, a good neighbour, and the dragon and the elephant to come together.’

Modi replied: ‘We are committed to progressing our relations based on mutual respect, trust and sensitivities.’

Putin is expected to remain in China as the guest of honour at a massive military parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War Two.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un will also attend the display, which will feature China’s newest weapons, including ship-killing hypersonic missiles, in what experts say is a warning to the West.