Kim’s China Trip Signals Shifting Power in Nuclear Diplomacy

Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang in June 2024.Source: Getty Images

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By Soo-hyang Choi

August 29, 2025 at 3:13 AM UTC

Updated on

August 29, 2025 at 5:24 AM UTC

Just days after US President Donald Trump said he’d like to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang responded in its own way, by announcing Kim’s plans to join Russian President Vladimir Putin in attending a key Chinese military parade in Beijing.

Kim’s attendance at the Sept. 3 Victory Day celebrations, standing alongside some of the world’s most powerful leaders, will send a clear message to the US and its allies that it’s no longer the same North Korea they faced years ago when Trump and Kim met in person for nuclear talks.