Putin and Kim Jong Un to Attend China’s Military Parade Marking WWII Anniversary

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to attend a large-scale military parade in Beijing next week as part of China’s commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, according to reports.

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency announced Thursday that Kim will visit China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping to take part in the celebrations. China also confirmed that numerous world leaders will be attending, including Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, among others.

The parade, set to take place on September 3 at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, will commemorate the 1937–1945 conflict, which Beijing refers to as the “War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression,” framing it as a decisive chapter of the global “War Against Fascism.”