Train carrying Kim Jong Un expected to arrive in Beijing late Tuesday
A special armored train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed the border into China early Tuesday as he headed to Beijing to attend a military parade, marking his debut on the multilateral diplomatic stage.
Kim, who departed North Korea’s capital Pyongyang on Monday, is expected to reach Beijing later Tuesday, local time, as the journey spans around 1,300 kilometers (807 miles) and usually takes between 20 and 24 hours.
Kim, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be among the state leaders from 26 countries attending a military parade in the Chinese capital on Wednesday. The event will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which China marks as its victory over Japan.
It will mark the first time that Kim will be participating in a multilateral diplomatic event since taking power in late 2011.
China’s President Xi Jinping will address the parade.
Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il-Sung, the founder and first leader of North Korea, attended such a military parade in Beijing in 1959.
- 2,000 North Korean soldiers killed in Ukraine war, claims Seoul
As Kim crossed the border into China, South Korean intelligence agency claimed at least 2,000 North Korean soldiers were killed in the Ukraine war, according to Yonhap News.
The latest claim came after North Korea last month held two ceremonies to honor its fallen soldiers during the Ukraine war.
Pyongyang had deployed thousands of soldiers to Russia to aid its fight against Kyiv, which has drawn support from Western nations.
Pyongyang held two ceremonies, including one in which it had portraits of 101 soldiers on a memorial wall, and in the second ceremony, the families of dead soldiers were given the portraits.
Pyongyang gave no specific number of fallen soldiers.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called them “great heroes” and said a street in the capital Pyongyang will be named after them.
In April, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service had told lawmakers that at least 600 North Korean troops had been killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
The agency said Pyongyang had likely suffered more than 4,700 casualties overall since its troops began participating in the conflict.
North Korea and Russia last year signed a comprehensive strategic partnership pledging mutual military support if either country came under attack by a third party.
