Fears of a new Cold War will be stoked next week as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits Beijing for a major military parade. He will join Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in a gathering that starkly illustrates a deepening global divide.
The event on Wednesday marks the 80th anniversary of WWII’s end, but its symbolism is entirely focused on the present. The absence of leaders from the U.S. and major Western European nations—a protest against Putin—draws clear battle lines between two opposing ideological blocs.
This trip is Kim’s first to China since 2019, a vital mission to reaffirm his alliance with his country’s primary supporter. With China as its economic backbone, North Korea’s stability hinges on this relationship.
The trilateral meeting is a powerful visual of a consolidating axis. As North Korea provides military aid to Russia, the joint appearance of Kim, Xi, and Putin in Beijing will be seen as a formal declaration of their shared challenge to the Western world.