China defended on Thursday (September4, 2025) its decision to invite the leaders of Russia and North Korea to World War II commemorations, which President Donald Trump accused them of using to conspire against the United States.

Mr. Trump wrote a testy Truth Social post addressing his Chinese counterpart after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin flanked Xi Jinping at a massive parade in Beijing showcasing Chinese military hardware.

“Give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America,” Mr. Trump wrote.

Asked about Mr. Trump’s post, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday (September 4, 2025) “foreign guests” had been invited to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War II.

“It is to work together with peace-loving countries and peoples to remember history, cherish the memory of the martyrs, cherish peace, and create the future,” spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters.

“China’s development of diplomatic relations with any country is never directed against any third party,” he said.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, said Wednesday (September 3, 2025) it thought Mr. Trump’s allegation was “not without irony”.

Beijing had much stronger words for the European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas, who also criticised the parade.

Ms. Kallas said Wednesday (September 3, 2025) that Mr. Xi, Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim appearing together was part of efforts to build an anti-Western “new world order” and was “a direct challenge to the international system built on rules”.

“The remarks made by a certain EU official are full of ideological bias, lack basic historical knowledge and blatantly stir up confrontation and conflict,” Mr. Guo said Thursday (September 4, 2025).

“Such statements are profoundly misguided and utterly irresponsible.”

He added: “We hope that those people will abandon their frog-in-the-well prejudice and arrogance…and do more things that are conducive to world peace and stability and China-Europe relations.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged mutual support and enhanced cooperation during talks in Beijing on the sidelines of festivities commemorating the end of the second World War, state media said Thursday (September 4, 2025).

Mr. Xi and Mr. Kim, along with top officials from their countries, met at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People a day after Mr. Kim attended a Chinese military parade alongside other foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Kim is making a rare trip outside North Korea.

Mr. Xi highlighted the “traditional friendship” between China and North Korea and pledged to consolidate and boost relations, according to a readout of their statements published by state broadcaster CCTV.

“This position will not change regardless of how the international situation evolves,” Mr. Xi told Mr. Kim, according to CCTV.

China has been North Korea’s biggest trading partner and aid provider, though questions have lingered about the strength of their bilateral relationship.

In recent years, Mr. Kim’s foreign policy has focused heavily on Russia. He has sent combat troops and ammunition to back Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in return for economic and military assistance. At a meeting with Mr. Kim in Beijing after the parade, Mr. Putin praised the bravery of North Korean soldiers in the fighting.

But experts say that Mr. Kim would feel the need to prepare for the possible end of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Mr. Kim, on his first visit to China in six years, brought his young daughter, adding to speculation that she’s being primed as the country’s next leader.

On Wednesday (September 3, 2025), he joined 26 foreign leaders who watched the parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. It was the first time that Kim had joined an event with a large group of world leaders since taking office in late 2011.

During his meeting with Mr. Xi, Mr. Kim lauded the “friendly feelings” between North Korea and China, which he pledged would persist “regardless of how the international situation changes.”

Mr. Kim said North Korea was ready to boost exchanges with China at all levels and “deepen mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation,” according to CCTV.

North Korea’s economy has been suffering under heavy U.S. sanctions tied to Pyongyang’s development of nuclear weapons. Some observers say Mr. Kim’s trip could also be meant to increase leverage in potential talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his hopes to resume diplomacy between the two countries.

China is believed to want its neighbour to return to negotiation and give up its nuclear weapons development.

North Korea’s more recent closer ties with Russia have raised some concern in Beijing, which has long been Pyongyang’s most important ally.

The joint appearance of Mr. Kim, Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin at the parade has sparked speculation about a joint effort to push back at U.S. pressure on their three countries. Mr. Trump said as much in a social media post, telling Mr. Xi to give his warmest regards to Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim “as you conspire against The United States of America.”

Mr. Putin dismissed that idea at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday (September 3, 2025), saying no one has expressed anything negative about the Trump administration during his trip to China.

“The President of the United States is not without a sense of humour,” he said.

Although China, North Korea and Russia are embroiled in separate confrontations with the U.S., they haven’t formed a clear three-way alliance so far.

Zhu Feng, the dean of Nanjing University’s School of International Relations, said that “ganging up” with North Korea would damage China’s image, because the former is the most closed and authoritarian country in the world.

“It should not be overinterpreted that China-North Korea-Russia relations would see reinforcement,” he said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing by train on Tuesday (September 2, 2025) to attend a military parade with his Chinese and Russian counterparts, an event that observers say could potentially demonstrate three-way unity against the United States.

Mr. Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the 26 world leaders who will join China’s President Xi Jinping at Wednesday’s massive military parade in Beijing that commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s fight against Japan’s wartime aggressions.

It’s set to be Mr. Kim’s first time attending a major multilateral event during his 14-year rule, and the first time Kim, Xi and Putin, all key challengers of the US, have gathered at the same venue. None of the three countries have confirmed a private trilateral leaders’ meeting.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Mr. Kim was greeted at Beijing railway station by senior Chinese officials. Kim was cited as saying he was pleased to visit China and expressing thanks to Xi and his government for their cordial hospitality.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency issued a photo of a smiling Kim, dressed in a black suit and red tie, stepping off his train at the station.

Bilateral meetings

In a closed-door briefing to lawmakers earlier Tuesday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said that Kim will likely receive special protocol and security measures on par with those given to Mr. Putin, according to Lee Seong Kweun, a lawmaker who attended the meeting.

The spy agency said Mr. Kim may stand alongside Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin on the rostrum at Tiananmen Square during Wednesday’s parade, and anticipated that he will hold bilateral meetings with the Chinese and Russian leaders and interact with other heads of state at a reception and cultural performance as he seeks to further break out of isolation and expand his diplomatic footing, Mr. Lee said.

It is Mr. Kim’s first visit to China since 2019 and the fifth visit in total since he inherited power upon his father’s death in late 2011.

Mr. Putin 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 Russia’s Tass news agency on Sunday that a meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim on the sidelines was “under consideration.” North Korea observers are paying keen attention to Kim possibly meeting Xi bilaterally as well and holding even a trilateral meeting with Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin. The three leaders have met bilaterally previously but have yet to hold a trilateral meeting.

Kim to restore China ties

North Korea’s foreign policy priority has been Russia in recent years as it has been supplying troops and ammunition to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine in exchange for economic and military assistance.

According to South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops to Russia since last year. In its latest briefing to lawmakers, the South Korean spy agency said it believes roughly 2,000 of them have so far died in combat, Lee said.

Mr. Kim has also agreed to additionally send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia’s Kursk region, and the agency assesses that the first 1,000 are already in Russia, Mr. Lee said.

North Korea’s relations with China have reportedly turned sour in recent years, but experts say Mr. Kim likely hopes to restore ties as China is North Korea’s biggest trading partner and aid benefactor and he would want to brace for the end of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Kim developing partnerships

Since 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 Mr. Kim’s presence at the multilateral event in Beijing is part of efforts to develop partnerships with other nations close to China and Russia.

Mr. Kim’s 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 Kim’s earlier round of diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019.

Before departing for China on Monday, Kim visited a North Korean missile research institute to review progress on developing a new engine for a “next-generation” 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 next-generation ICBM likely refers to a long-range weapon with multiple nuclear warheads that can defeat US missile defence systems.