North Korea's Kim Jong Un travels to Beijing to watch military parade alongside Putin, Xi Jinping

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is heading to Beijing by train on Tuesday to attend a military parade with his Chinese and Russian counterparts North Koreas state media reported The event could potentially demonstrate their threeway unity against the United StatesKim and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the 26 world leaders wholl join Chinese President Xi Jinping to watch Wednesdays massive military parade in Beijing that commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and Chinas fight against Japans wartime aggressionsWhile the event would mark Kims first attendance of a major multilateral event during his 14year rule it would also be the first time for Kim Xi and Putin all key challengers of the US to gather at the same venue None of the three countries has confirmed a private trilateral leaders meetingThe Norths official Korean Central News Agency reported early Tuesday that Kim left Pyongyang for Beijing by his special train on Monday to participate in the celebrations KCNA citing Foreign Ministry official Kim Chon Il said that Kim Jong Un was travelling with top officials including Foreign Minister Choe Son HuiSouth Korean media reported Kim Jong Uns train was expected to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday after confirming its arrival in the Chinese border city of Dandong on Monday night Kims travel marks his first visit to China since 2019 and the fifth visit in total since he inherited power upon his fathers death in late 2011Putin arrived in China on Sunday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation a regional summit as well as the Beijing parade Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told Russias TASS news agency on Sunday that a meeting between Putin and Kim on the sidelines was under considerationNorth Korea observers are paying keen attention to Kim possibly meeting Xi bilaterally as well and holding even a trilateral meeting with Xi and Putin The three leaders have met bilaterally previously but have yet to hold a trilateral meetingNorth Koreas foreign policy priority has been Russia in recent years as it has been supplying troops and ammunition to support Russias war against Ukraine in exchange for economic and military assistance North Koreas relations with China have reportedly turned sour in recent years but experts say Kim likely hopes to restore ties as China is North Koreas biggest trading partner and aid benefactor and he would want to brace for the end of the RussiaUkraine warSince aligning with Russia North Korea has become more vocal in international affairs beyond the Korean Peninsula issuing diplomatic statements on conflicts in the Middle East and in the Taiwan Strait while portraying itself as a part of a united front against Washington Some experts say Kims presence at the multilateral event in Beijing is part of efforts to develop partnerships with other nations close to China and RussiaKims trip comes as President Donald Trump and new liberal South Korean President Lee Jae Myung have repeatedly expressed their hopes to restart talks with North Korea North Korea has been shunning talks with the US and South Korea and pushing to expand its nuclear and missile arsenals since Kims earlier round of diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019Before departing for China on Monday Kim visited a North Korean missile research institute to review progress on developing a new engine for what it called a nextgeneration intercontinental ballistic missile KCNA reported The North in recent years has tested various versions of ICBMs capable of reaching the US mainland and analysts say the nextgeneration ICBM likely refers to a longrange weapon with multiple nuclear warheads that can defeat US missile defence systemsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever