China’s foreign ministry said Thursday that 26 foreign leaders—including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin—will attend a Victory Day military parade in Beijing on 3 September marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. The invitation list was released by Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei at a press briefing. Kim’s trip would be his first visit to China in more than six years and the first time he has joined a multilateral gathering of heads of state since taking power in 2011. Putin’s presence will bring the Russian leader together with President Xi Jinping and Kim for the first time in public, underscoring deepening ties among the three countries amid Western sanctions on Moscow and Pyongyang. No major Western leaders plan to attend; Slovakia’s Robert Fico is the sole EU or NATO head of government expected. The parade, to be reviewed by Xi in Tiananmen Square, is billed as one of China’s largest in years, featuring tens of thousands of troops and displays of advanced fighter jets, missile-defence systems and hypersonic weapons. Beijing portrays the event as a tribute to wartime sacrifice, while analysts see it as a calculated projection of military strength and diplomatic solidarity with Russia and North Korea.