- As Kim reaches China, South Korea claims 2,000 North Korean soldiers were killed in Ukraine war

- Cooperation with Beijing to 'champion global justice and equity will further continue to grow,' says Pyongyang

ANKARA

A special armored train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, as he will attend a military parade, marking his debut on the multilateral diplomatic stage.

The train "presumed" to be carrying Kim was "confirmed to have reached near Beijing Railway Station at around 4 pm (China time / 0800GMT)," South Korea's Yonhap News reported.

The North Korean leader departed capital Pyongyang on Monday, traveling around 1,300 kilometers (807 miles), which usually takes between 20 and 24 hours.

He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and other senior officials, according to Kim Chon Il, director of the Department of Press and Information at the North Korean Foreign Ministry.

It is his fifth trip to China since assuming power in 2011.

Kim, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be among the state leaders from 26 countries attending a military parade in the Chinese capital on Wednesday. The event will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which China marks as its victory over Japan.

It will mark the first time that Kim will be participating in a multilateral diplomatic event since taking power in late 2011.

China’s President Xi Jinping will address the parade.

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

2,000 North Korean soldiers killed in Ukraine war, claims Seoul

As Kim crossed the border into China, the South Korean intelligence agency claimed at least 2,000 North Korean soldiers were killed in the Ukraine war, according to Yonhap News.

The latest claim came after North Korea last month held two ceremonies to honor its fallen soldiers during the Ukraine war.

Pyongyang had deployed thousands of soldiers to Russia to aid its fight against Kyiv, which has drawn support from Western nations.

Pyongyang held two ceremonies, including one in which it had portraits of 101 soldiers on a memorial wall, and in the second ceremony, the families of dead soldiers were given the portraits.

Pyongyang gave no specific number of fallen soldiers.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called them “great heroes” and said a street in the capital Pyongyang will be named after them.

In April, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service had told lawmakers that at least 600 North Korean troops had been killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.

The agency said Pyongyang had likely suffered more than 4,700 casualties overall since its troops began participating in the conflict.

North Korea and Russia last year signed a comprehensive strategic partnership pledging mutual military support if either country came under attack by a third party.

Ahead of Kim's trip, Pyongyang hails China ties

Ahead of Kim’s trip to Beijing, the North Korean Foreign Ministry hailed ties with China.

It said the Global Governance Initiative (CGI) proposed by Chinese President Xi “is a reflection of the commitment to working in partnership with all nations in the world to advance the building of a just and equitable global order.”

Xi proposed his fourth such initiative during a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Chinese city of Tianjin on Monday.

“The GGI is of great positive significance in defending the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in today’s world, where supremacy and unilateral practices of the US and the West are prevalent and tragic incidents happen one after another,” said Kim, director of press at the North Korean Foreign Ministry.

Pyongyang “remains firm in its commitment to safeguarding global justice, peace, and security and promoting the building of a new multipolar world,” he said.

He added that North Korea and China “have long been supporting each other, sharing a common position against domination and subordination, hegemony, and high-handedness.”

The cooperation between Pyongyang and Beijing “to champion global justice and equity will further continue to grow,” said Kim, the director.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid