ISTANBUL

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may have demanded that Beijing avoid any mention of denuclearization as a condition for attending China’s military parade, South Korea said Monday.

"I presume that (Kim) may have strongly demanded no mention of denuclearization as a condition for his attendance (at the military parade)," South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told lawmakers in Seoul, according to Yonhap News.

China staged its largest military parade last Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Twenty-six foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim, attended the event commemorating Japan’s 1945 surrender.

It was Kim’s fifth visit to China since 2018 and his first appearance at a multilateral event since assuming power in December 2011.

Before returning to North Korea on Friday after overnight travel aboard his private train, Kim held his sixth bilateral summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

According to the South Korean minister, Kim’s presence at the parade “may have represented a significant symbolic diplomatic accomplishment.”

“He may have appeared at the event out of confidence that (North Korea) is a nuclear-armed country," Chung said.

Kim’s China trip was among his rare overseas visits. Besides China, he has traveled to Russia as well as Vietnam and Singapore for summits with US President Donald Trump during Trump’s first term in the White House.

Pyongyang has since pushed back on attempts to resume talks with Washington, insisting it must first be recognized as a nuclear-armed state before entering any formal negotiations.

Separately, Seoul on Monday proposed a joint archaeological survey with Pyongyang in another attempt by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to revive ties with North Korea.

According to the Korea Heritage Service, the plan includes efforts to restore a major temple on Mount Kumgang, a scenic North Korean mountain recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.