The only person who can make progress is you, Mr President
In Beijing on September 3rd, three leaders whose nations have grown increasingly intertwined — Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping — will stand together at a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of China's victory over Japan. For Kim, it is his first international summit in six years, a quiet but unmistakable signal that North Korea is stepping back onto the world stage. The gathering arrives as Donald Trump signals openness to renewed diplomacy with both Beijing and Pyongyang, and as South Korea's president asks him directly to become a peacemaker on the peninsula — a convergence of choreography and consequence that few moments in recent geopolitics have matched.
- Kim Jong-un's first international summit since 2019 breaks a long diplomatic silence, raising immediate questions about what North Korea wants — and what it is being offered.
- The image of Kim, Putin, and Xi standing together in Beijing is itself a provocation, a visual argument about where power is consolidating in the post-Western order.
- Trump, watching from Washington, has signaled he wants in — expressing openness to a fourth meeting with Kim and a future visit to China, likely in late October or November.
- South Korea's president made a direct, almost personal appeal to Trump in the Oval Office, asking him to serve as peacemaker and promising to play the supporting role — a calculated bet on Trump's ego and appetite for historic deals.
- The parade's margins may matter more than its spectacle: the side conversations between Kim, Xi, and Putin could quietly reshape the security architecture of the entire region.
In six days, three of Asia's most consequential leaders will stand together in Beijing. Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping have all confirmed attendance at a military parade on September 3rd — marking the 80th anniversary of China's victory over Japan in the Second World War. The Chinese Foreign Ministry made it official. The ceremony is real, but the signal is larger: North Korea, Russia, and China, visibly aligned.
For Kim, the moment is historic. It will be his first international summit of this scale, and his first trip outside North Korea since 2019. The parade will give China's military a stage to display its newest capabilities, including anti-drone technology, while Western intelligence watches closely. But the gathering itself is the message.
The timing is deliberate. Trump revealed last week that Xi has invited him to China, with late October or November under discussion. He has also expressed openness to a fourth meeting with Kim — seven years after their first encounter in Singapore — positioning himself as a potential player in the very dynamics Beijing is putting on display.
South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung added another layer during a Monday visit to the Oval Office, asking Trump directly to serve as a peacemaker on the Korean peninsula. 'The only person who can make progress is you, Mr President,' Lee told him. 'If you become the peacemaker, then I will assist you by being a pacemaker.' It was a calculated appeal — flattering Trump's self-image as a dealmaker while signaling Seoul's eagerness to engage both Pyongyang and Beijing.
What happens in Beijing on September 3rd will be watched as a barometer. The parade is pageantry, but the conversations in its margins — between Putin and Xi, between Kim and his hosts — carry real weight. For Trump, it is an opening. For South Korea, it is a moment of anxiety and opportunity both. Whether this marks the beginning of a new diplomatic chapter or simply theater masking deeper tensions may take longer than six days to know.
In six days, three of Asia's most consequential leaders will stand together in Beijing to watch their militaries roll past in formation. Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping have all confirmed their attendance at a military parade scheduled for September 3, an event that carries weight far beyond the ceremonial. The Chinese Foreign Ministry made the announcement official. The parade marks the 80th anniversary of China's victory over Japan in the Second World War—what Beijing calls Victory Day—but its real significance lies in what it signals about the realignment of power in the region.
For Kim Jong-un, this is historic. It will be his first appearance at an international summit of this caliber, his first trip outside North Korea since 2019, when he attended celebrations marking seven decades of diplomatic ties with China. The parade will give the Chinese military a stage to display its newest systems—anti-drone technology among them—while Western intelligence agencies watch intently. But the gathering itself is the message: North Korea, Russia, and China, standing together.
The timing is not accidental. Donald Trump, speaking from the White House, revealed last week that Xi Jinping has invited him to China for a future meeting. No date is set yet, but late October or early November are being discussed as possibilities. Trump has also signaled openness to a fourth meeting with Kim Jong-un, seven years after their first encounter in Singapore. The American president appears to be positioning himself as a player in the very dynamics this Beijing parade will underscore.
Meanwhile, South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung made an unusual appeal during a Monday visit to the Oval Office. He asked Trump directly to serve as a peacemaker on the Korean peninsula, framing himself as a willing partner in any diplomatic effort. Lee told Trump: "The only person who can make progress is you Mr President. If you become the peacemaker, then I will assist you by being a pacemaker." It was a calculated move—acknowledging Trump's self-image as a dealmaker while positioning Seoul as eager to rebuild relations with the North and strengthen ties with Beijing.
What unfolds in Beijing on September 3 will be watched as a barometer of where these relationships are heading. The parade itself is pageantry, but the conversations that happen in its margins—between Putin and Xi, between Kim and his hosts—will carry real consequences. For Trump, it represents an opening: a chance to insert himself into a regional dynamic that has been largely frozen for years. For South Korea, it's a moment of anxiety and opportunity, watching its security tied to the calculations of larger powers. The next six days will tell us whether this is the beginning of a new diplomatic chapter or simply theater masking deeper tensions.
Notable Quotes
The only person who can make progress is you Mr President. If you become the peacemaker, then I will assist you by being a pacemaker.— South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, speaking to Trump at the White House
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Kim Jong-un's presence at this parade matter so much? He's attended Chinese events before.
Not at this level. This is a summit—Putin and Xi both there, all three heads of state together. It's his first time on that stage. It signals that North Korea is being treated as a peer in this moment, not a client state.
And Trump's invitation from Xi—is that real leverage, or is he reading too much into it?
It's real enough that he's talking about it publicly. Whether it happens depends on what both sides want from the conversation. But the fact that he's already saying he'd meet Kim again suggests he's thinking about Korea as part of a larger negotiation.
Lee Jae Myung's pitch to Trump—calling himself a "pacemaker"—that felt like desperation.
It was strategic desperation. South Korea is watching three major powers align without it at the table. Lee is trying to make himself useful to Trump, to remind him that Seoul matters in any Korea equation.
What does Putin get out of standing next to Xi and Kim?
Legitimacy, mostly. It's a visual statement that Russia isn't isolated, that it has allies in Asia. For Putin, that matters more than the specifics of what's discussed.
So the real story is what happens after September 3?
Exactly. The parade is the announcement. What matters is whether Trump actually goes to Beijing, whether he meets Kim again, and what any of those conversations produce. That's when we'll know if this alignment is durable or just theater.