China military parade latest: Trump accuses Xi, Putin and Kim of ‘conspiring’ against US after China unveils new long range missiles – UK Times

Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met for bilateral talks in Beijing on Wednesday.

The two leaders met formally at the Diaoyutai state guest house after attending a major military parade in the heart of the Chinese capital that marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.Mr Putin and Mr Kim travelled from a formal reception to the negotiations in the same car, the Kremlin said in a post on social media.

After a bilateral meeting between Russian and North Korean delegations, the two leaders held a one-on-one meeting, the Kremlin said. Mr Putin also invited Mr Kim to visit Russia again, following on from the North Korean leader’s last visit to the country in 2023.

Speaking in front of journalists as the talks began, Mr Putin praised the bravery and heroism of North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Moscow’s troops to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region.

In his opening remarks, Mr Kim said that cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow has “significantly strengthened” since the two countries signed a strategic partnership pact in June last year during a summit in the North Korean capital.

Xi Jinping, who has been positioning China as a stabilising force in an unstable world, said humanity must choose between peace and war and dialogue and confrontation.

“The Chinese people’s rejuvenation cannot be blocked, and the noble goal of the peaceful development of human civilisation must triumph,” Xi said at the end of his speech.

An analyst at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore said the turbulence in US policy is an opportunity for China.

“This is the right time for China to announce its arrival on the stage, to be a security guarantor, to fill the political, economic, military, diplomatic vacuums,” said James Char, an assistant professor in the China Program.

China’s splashy commemoration marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II is a way to boost support for Communist Party rule by showing the progress made by the country.

The Asia superpower was a major front in the war where millions died during Japan’s invasion.

Parade showed off drone submarines and hypersonic missilesHighlights of the weaponry in the parade included the AJX002 underwater drone, a long, black, tube-shaped craft that looks like a narrow submarine with a rear propeller.

Other weapons that got attention were hypersonic missiles designed to take out ships at sea and a new intercontinental ballistic missile, the DF-61, which could carry nuclear warheads to distant targets.

The hypersonic weapons are of particular concern to the US Navy, which patrols the western Pacific from its 7th Fleet headquarters in Japan.

Fighter jets and bombers flew across the sky, some painting rows of colored exhaust in unison. Helicopters flew in formation, one group of 26 spelling out the number “80” for the war’s anniversary year.

Chinese president Xi Jinping welcomed the world leaders for a grand lunch at the Great Hall of the People after showcasing their military might.

According to Hong Kong – based newspaper, Wen Wei Po, the guests were served with chicken soup with conch meat and lily bulbs, roasted lamb chops, stir-fried lobster with crab meat, roe and egg white, a clear scallop consommé with assorted mushrooms, and roasted salt-marinated salmon with creamy mustard sauce.

The banquet hall itself was beautifully decorated, with tables draped in white table cloth and adorned with flowers, wine glasses, name cards, and panda-shaped chopstick rests.

China showcased its military might in a parade this morning marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, a show of strength as it seeks to wield greater influence on the global stage.

Leader Xi Jinping, speaking before the parade, paid tribute to Chinese veterans of the war. Since coming to power in 2012, he has sought to build China into a country that cannot be bullied and is strong enough to stand up to foreign powers.

“The Chinese people are a people that are not afraid of violence and are self-reliant and strong,” he said.

The Chinese military showed off aerial and underwater drones, hypersonic missiles and fighter jets and bombers in a 90-minute event attended by the leaders of about two dozen countries, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

Some of the weapons unveiled during the event included brand-new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, advanced underwater drones and a new model of hypersonic missile.

Trump’s moves to undermine the West have not only made Xi look good – but make him more powerful, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley

Bilateral talks between Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un have ended after two-and-a half hours, the Russian state media reported.

Mr Putin has invited Mr Kim to visit Russia, the Kremlin said.

Reclusive North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un can claim a diplomatic victory with Pyongyang going from being unanimously sanctioned by the UN Security Council for its illegal nuclear and missile programs to being embraced by UNSC permanent members Russia and China, says Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

Mr Kim and Russia’s Vladimir Putin were the chief guests at today’s parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War Two.

“Pyongyang has profited from contributing to Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine, while China remains North Korea’s most important economic partner.

“Despite their extensive human rights abuses, Kim and Putin were given the most honoured positions immediately to the left and right of Xi, standing side by side as they reviewed a parade of China’s expanding military capabilities, including nuclear-armed missiles,” he said.

“The event was more commemorative than policy substance, but further economic and military cooperation among participating countries is likely to follow. It remains to be seen whether the Xi-Putin-Kim trilateral appearance will be a one-off. It is hard to see them meet[ing] as often as US, Japanese, and South Korean leaders, who can gather at UN, APEC, ASEAN, NATO, and other multilateral summits.”