Some relationships cannot be abandoned, no matter how tempting the alternatives
For the first time in six years, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will leave his isolation to stand alongside world leaders in Beijing, joining a Chinese military parade marking the 80th anniversary of World War II's end. His presence — rare, deliberate, and laden with subtext — speaks to the enduring gravity of the China-North Korea relationship, even as Pyongyang has leaned into a wartime partnership with Moscow. In the long calculus of survival, geography and economic dependency have a way of calling leaders back to relationships they cannot afford to neglect.
- Kim Jong Un's first multilateral appearance since taking power in 2011 breaks years of deliberate isolation, signaling that something has shifted in Pyongyang's strategic thinking.
- North Korea's deepening military cooperation with Russia — troops, ammunition, and shared ambition — has quietly strained its most essential relationship, with the country that supplies 97 percent of its trade.
- Beijing's warm framing of the invitation as an affirmation of 'traditional friendship' masks the underlying tension both sides are now working to smooth over.
- Kim's calculated appearance alongside Putin, Xi, and two dozen other leaders lends him a diplomatic visibility he has never before sought, repositioning him on the world stage.
- Analysts see the Beijing visit as groundwork for a potential re-engagement with the Trump administration — Kim arriving not as a supplicant, but as a leader with restored regional standing.
Kim Jong Un is traveling to Beijing next week for a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II — his first trip to China in six years and his first appearance at a multilateral event with foreign leaders since he came to power in 2011. He will join roughly two dozen dignitaries, including Vladimir Putin, for a ceremony featuring Chinese military hardware and a speech from President Xi Jinping. Absent from the guest list: the United States and major Western European nations.
The visit arrives at a complicated moment in China-North Korea relations. Pyongyang has grown closer to Moscow in recent years, supplying troops and ammunition to support Russia's war in Ukraine in exchange for economic and military benefits. But that partnership has come at a cost. China remains North Korea's irreplaceable economic lifeline — in 2023, roughly 97 percent of North Korea's external trade flowed through Beijing, compared to just 1.2 percent through Russia. Friction with China is a luxury the regime can ill afford.
Analysts read Kim's decision to attend as a deliberate effort to repair that strained relationship. Professor Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha Womans University in Seoul noted that North Korea's cooperation with Moscow has damaged ties with Beijing even as Chinese support remains vital to the regime's survival. Attending the parade, he argued, is Kim's highly visible way of signaling that Pyongyang still values the relationship with Xi.
There is another layer of calculation at work. Donald Trump has spoken openly about his nostalgia for his three summits with Kim and has signaled openness to renewed dialogue. By appearing on a global stage alongside world leaders, Kim may be positioning himself to re-enter those conversations from a place of restored standing — not as an isolated figure, but as a leader who has tended his alliances. The Beijing trip is, in the end, a reminder that Russia's partnership has limits, and that some relationships — rooted in geography, dependency, and history — cannot simply be traded away.
Kim Jong Un is heading to Beijing next week for a military parade—his first trip to China in six years and, more significantly, his first appearance at a multilateral event with other world leaders since he took power in late 2011. The North Korean and Chinese governments announced the plan Thursday, confirming that the reclusive leader will join roughly two dozen other foreign dignitaries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China's wartime resistance to Japan.
The parade itself will be a showcase of Chinese military capability, featuring some of the country's newest weaponry and a speech from President Xi Jinping. Beyond Kim and Putin, the guest list includes leaders from Iran, Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Malaysia. Notably absent will be representatives from the United States and major Western European nations—a reflection of the diplomatic fractures that have widened over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. China's assistant minister of foreign affairs, Hong Lei, framed the invitation warmly, calling it an affirmation of the "traditional friendship" between Beijing and Pyongyang and describing it as a firm position of the Chinese Communist Party.
The timing and symbolism of Kim's appearance carry weight beyond the ceremonial. North Korea's relationship with China has grown complicated in recent years, strained by Pyongyang's deepening military cooperation with Moscow. North Korea has been supplying troops and ammunition to support Russia's war effort in Ukraine, a partnership that has yielded economic and military benefits. Yet this alignment comes with a cost: it has created friction with Beijing, which remains North Korea's largest trading partner and primary source of aid. The numbers tell the story plainly. In 2023, roughly 97 percent of North Korea's external trade flowed through China, while only 1.2 percent came from Russia. For a regime struggling with economic hardship, that dependency is inescapable.
Analysts suggest Kim's decision to attend the parade is a calculated move to repair what has become a strained relationship. Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, observed that North Korea's illicit cooperation with Moscow has damaged ties with Beijing, even as China's political and economic support remains vital to the regime's survival. "To re-engage Trump from a position of strength, Kim seeks to repair relations with Xi, and attending the parade in Beijing is a highly visible way of doing that," Easley said. That last phrase hints at another layer of calculation: the incoming Trump administration.
Donald Trump has made no secret of his nostalgia for his three summits with Kim between 2018 and 2019, including the dramatic moment when he became the first sitting U.S. president to cross into North Korea at the Demilitarized Zone. "I loved it," Trump told reporters this week when asked if he might return. "Remember when I walked across the line and everyone went crazy." Those earlier talks ultimately collapsed over disagreements about sanctions relief, and Kim has spent the years since expanding and modernizing his nuclear arsenal through repeated weapons tests. But Trump has signaled openness to renewed dialogue, and many observers believe North Korea would be willing to return to negotiations if it sensed the United States might offer greater concessions than before.
Kim's appearance in Beijing, then, serves multiple purposes at once. It signals to Xi that Pyongyang values the relationship despite the recent pivot toward Russia. It positions Kim on a global stage alongside other leaders, lending him a measure of diplomatic legitimacy he has never before sought in a multilateral setting. And it may be laying groundwork for a future conversation with Washington—one in which Kim can claim to be negotiating from a position of restored regional standing. The visit also underscores a hard reality for North Korea: Russia's partnership, however valuable in the short term, has limits. When the Ukraine war eventually ends, the level of cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang may diminish. China, by contrast, is a permanent neighbor and an irreplaceable economic lifeline. Kim's trip to Beijing is, in essence, a reminder that some relationships cannot be abandoned, no matter how tempting the alternatives may seem.
Notable Quotes
To re-engage Trump from a position of strength, Kim seeks to repair relations with Xi, and attending the parade in Beijing is a highly visible way of doing that.— Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul
I loved it. Remember when I walked across the line and everyone went crazy.— Donald Trump, on his 2018 meeting with Kim at the Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would Kim risk leaving North Korea for this parade? He's famously paranoid about his security.
The invitation from Xi is essentially an offer he can't refuse—and the security apparatus around a state event in Beijing would be formidable. But you're right that it's unusual. He hasn't done anything like this before.
So what's he actually trying to accomplish?
He's trying to fix what's broken with China. North Korea bet heavily on Russia, but that bet has a shelf life. When the Ukraine war ends, so does the money and weapons. China is forever.
And the Trump angle—is that real?
It's real enough that analysts are watching it. Trump keeps talking about how much he loved meeting Kim. If Kim shows up in Beijing looking presidential, standing with other leaders, he's signaling he's ready to talk again—but from better ground than before.
Better ground how?
He's not isolated. He's not desperate. He's a leader attending an international event. It changes the optics of any future negotiation.
Does China actually need him there, or is this about helping him?
Both. China wants to show its influence and its friendships. Having Kim there demonstrates that Beijing can still command loyalty from Pyongyang, even after the Russia pivot. It's a show of strength for Xi too.
What happens if the talks with Trump actually restart?
That's the question everyone's asking. Last time they collapsed over sanctions. This time, if it happens, the stakes might be different—but so might North Korea's leverage.