What's in it for Kim Jong Un as he takes a slow train ride to Beijing's Victory Parade?

Analysts say he aims to display unity with China, Russia before potential US talks

- Wendy Teo

PYONGYANG - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is not one to share his spotlight. By and large, he has adhered to the diplomatic playbook of his late grandfather Kim Il Sung, who founded the Kim dynasty, and his late father Kim Jong Il, preferring bilateral engagements to buttress his image as an independent and sovereign leader.

But by accepting China's invitation to attend its Victory Parade on Sept 3, a grand military event in Beijing's Tiananmen Square to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Mr Kim is making his first appearance at an event involving multiple leaders since taking power in 2011.

So what could have drawn Mr Kim to set off from Pyongyang for a long, puttering 24-hour ride on his Taeyangho, or Moving Fortress, train to Beijing, only to be third-billed behind Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin?

The forest-green train travels at a plodding speed of 60kmh due to its weight from being heavily armoured and bulletproof.

Russian media, quoting a Kremlin official, said that both Mr Putin and Mr Kim will flank President Xi during the parade, with Mr Putin on the right of the host as the most important guest.

No other Western leaders are among the 26 foreign heads of state and government attending the parade, except for Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, while South Korea will be represented by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik.

Analysts say that this arrangement is precisely the show of solidarity against the United States that Mr Kim is seeking to flex, in view of US President Donald Trump's remarks in a summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung that he would love to restart talks with Mr Kim as early as 2025.