Kim Jong-un to attend China's Victory Day parade alongside Xi and Putin this week
Published: 02 Sep. 2025, 16:01
Updated: 02 Sep. 2025, 17:46
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, on Sept. 1 leaves for China to attend the Victory Day parade set to take place on Sept. 3. [RODONG SINMUN]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/02/754812ec-cd52-4551-981d-312bcbcbd18b.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, on Sept. 1 leaves for China to attend the Victory Day parade set to take place on Sept. 3. [RODONG SINMUN]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to stand alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during China’s Victory Day military parade on Wednesday, symbolizing a “triangular alliance,” South Korea’s spy agency said Tuesday.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) delivered the assessment in a closed-door briefing to the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee, according to liberal Democratic Party Rep. Park Sun-won and conservative People Power Party Rep. Lee Seong-kweun, who serve as committee secretaries.
The NIS said Kim left Pyongyang by special train on Monday, crossed the border early Tuesday and was scheduled to arrive in Beijing later in the day.
He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, Kim Song-nam, director of the Workers’ Party’s International Department, and Hyon Song-wol, a deputy department director, the NIS said, adding that Kim’s wife Ri Sol-ju and his sister Kim Yo-jong may also be traveling with him.
Kim’s visit is aimed at expanding his diplomatic maneuvering space by restoring relations with China and securing economic support to shore up the North Korean regime, the agency reported.
![Leaders of North Korea, China and Russia are seen in this composite file photo. From left: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS/TASS/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/02/42ad4f7d-6d0d-45ae-b83e-730335beeed0.jpg)
Leaders of North Korea, China and Russia are seen in this composite file photo. From left: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS/TASS/YONHAP]
The NIS also told lawmakers that North Korea plans to send an additional 6,000 troops to Russia, with 1,000 combat engineers already confirmed to have arrived. It added that previously dispatched North Korean forces are stationed in the rear as reserve troops and that changes in local leadership may be underway.
Rep. Lee said about 350 North Korean casualties were reported in the first two deployments, but the NIS told the committee in April that the figure was at least 600. After reviewing the numbers with allies, the agency has now revised the estimate to about 2,000 deaths.
The NIS further reported that Pyongyang is preparing to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party on Oct. 10, as well as the likely convening of the party’s Ninth Congress early next year. Preparations include rehearsals for a large-scale military parade involving more than 10,000 participants and the revival of mass gymnastics events featuring over 100,000 people for the first time in five years.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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