North's Kim, China's Xi, Russia's Putin attend Victory Day parade in Beijing

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared together for the first time to attend a military parade held in Beijing on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of China's Victory Day.

At 9 a.m. in Beijing, the Victory Day military parade began in front of Tiananmen Square. Xi stood on the Tiananmen Gate tower alongside Kim and Putin.

This marks the first time the top leaders of North Korea, China and Russia have appeared together at an official event since the end of the Cold War. 

Kim, Xi and Putin stood at the center of a group photo during a welcome ceremony hosted by Xi and his wife at the southern square of the Duanmen Gate inside the Forbidden City. They then walked side by side to the Tiananmen Gate tower, engaging in conversation along the way.

Once atop the tower, Xi entered first, followed by Putin and Kim, in that order. The three greeted veterans of the war and were seated together at the center of the tower during the main ceremony — a moment of historic significance.

It is the first time in 66 years that the three countries’ leaders have stood together atop the Tiananmen Gate since North Korea's Kim Il Sung, China's Mao Zedong and the Soviet Union's Nikita Khrushchev did so during China’s National Day parade in 1959.

Kim’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, did not appear during the procession of world leaders at the event.

Kim was wearing a black suit and silver tie.

BY LIM JEONG-WON,JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]