Overview

• Multiple reports confirm Kim will stand with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at China’s Sept. 3 military parade in Tiananmen Square.
• A Kremlin official says Xi will be flanked by Putin on his right and Kim on his left on the parade platform.
• The event will be Kim’s first appearance at a multilateral diplomatic gathering since he took power in 2011.
• A formal three-way summit has not been announced, though experts say the joint appearance signals tighter coordination that challenges U.S.-aligned frameworks.
• South Korea’s foreign minister assessed that contact with the North in Beijing is unlikely, as analysts also read Kim’s trip as an effort to rebalance toward Beijing after a tilt toward Moscow and to strengthen leverage for potential U.S. talks.