• Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il-Sung, North Korea founder and 1st leader, attended such military parade in Beijing in 1959
• North Korean leader and South Korean Parliament speaker Woo Won-shik exchange greetings, in 1st direct contact between Seoul and Pyongyang in years

ISTANBUL / ISLAMABAD 

Top officials from divided Koreas on Wednesday were face-to-face at the same multilateral diplomatic event where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his international debut, alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a military parade in Beijing.

It marks the first time that the third-generation leader has attended a multilateral diplomatic event since he assumed power in December 2011. He has never attended a UN meeting in New York.

The Chinese military parade also brought officials from South Korea, led by Parliament Speaker Woo Won-shik, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday.

Kim and Woo exchanged greetings ahead of the parade, the Seoul-based Yonhap New reported. It is the first such direct contact between Seoul and Pyongyang in years.

TV footage showed Xi, Putin, and Kim emerging together at the podium in Tiananmen Square in Beijing to witness China’s military might.

Videos and photos shared by Chinese state media showed Kim sitting on the left side of Xi.

A family photo taken before the parade showed Kim standing second to Xi on his left, besides Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan.

China held a massive parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II -- which Beijing refers to as "the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War" -- and also to mark the 80th anniversary of the UN’s founding.

Kim, 41, traveled to Beijing using his special armored train, accompanied by his daughter and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, along with other senior officials.

It was also the first time that Kim was accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae during an overseas trip, the fifth to China.

Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il-Sung, the founder and first leader of North Korea, first attended such a military parade in Beijing in 1959.

‘Peace issues on Korean Peninsula’

South Korean Parliament Speaker Woo-led delegation is staying in Wangfujing — the same hotel used by former South Korean President Park Geun-hye during her 2015 visit, according to Korea Joongang newspaper.

“When we decided to visit China, we didn’t consider Kim’s visit,” Woo said a day earlier. “If we do meet, we will discuss peace issues on the Korean Peninsula, but I'm not sure if there will be an opportunity.”

The North Korean leader's car bore the license plate number "7·271953" — a reference to the July 27, 1953, Korean War armistice.

His motorcade, including Mercedes-Maybach cars, consisted of 28 vehicles, including Chinese police escorts and ambulances.

He left Pyongyang, aboard his private train, the Taeyangho, on Monday afternoon, and reached Beijing at around 4 pm local time (0800GMT) on Tuesday.

The Korean Peninsula has been divided since the inter-Korean War of the 1950s, which ended in an armistice, not a ceasefire, which technically keeps the divided Koreas at war.

On the sidelines of the Chinese events, Kim also held bilateral talks with Putin during his stay in Beijing.

The 26 foreign leaders who attended the military parade also included Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.