BEIJING, Sept 4, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un will meet for talks, Beijing said Thursday as the North Korean leader was in China on a rare foreign visit.

Kim and Russia's Vladimir Putin flanked Xi at a massive parade of military might in Beijing on Wednesday, where underwater drones, massive missiles and laser weapons were showcased to the foreign leaders.

China is North Korea's most important ally, their relationship forged in the bloodshed of the Korean War in the 1950s.

Kim arrived in Beijing on Tuesday accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae, in his second reported trip abroad in six years and first to China since 2019.

His attendance at the parade was the first time he was seen with Xi and Putin at the same event.

Beijing said Thursday that Kim and Xi will have a meeting.

"The two... leaders will hold talks and have an in-depth exchange of views on China-DPRK relations and issues of common concern," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said, using the acronym for North Korea.

"China is willing to work with the DPRK to strengthen strategic communication... deepen the exchange of experience in governance," Guo added.

Kim enjoyed a brief bout of high-profile international diplomacy from around 2018, meeting US President Donald Trump and then South Korean president Moon Jae-in multiple times.

But he withdrew from the global scene after the collapse of a summit with Trump in Hanoi in 2019.

Beijing has historically provided diplomatic, economic and political support to the country, which remains under crippling international sanctions.