Did Kim Jong-un use China’s parade to send his own missile message?

When North Korea unveiled a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) development a day before its leader visited China last week, it was sending a message to Beijing and Washington that it would not renounce its nuclear weapons, according to analysts.

Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un travelled to attend China’s military parade in Beijing and hold bilateral summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The trio stood side by side, looking out over Tiananmen Square during the parade on Wednesday, marking the first time since 1959 that the leaders of the three countries had attended the event in Beijing.

It was also the first time Kim had taken part in a multilateral diplomatic event since rising to power in 2012, and his first visit to China since January 2019.

Xi says China stands firm on strategic ties with North Korea

Xi says China stands firm on strategic ties with North Korea

On Thursday, Xi and Kim held their first bilateral summit since last meeting in Pyongyang in June 2019, where the two leaders pledged to “strengthen strategic coordination in international and regional affairs to safeguard common interests” while describing the two countries as “good neighbours, good friends and good comrades bound by shared destiny”, according to Chinese state media.