North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stood side-by-side with China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin to watch Chinese soldiers and nuclear weapons parade through Tiananmen Square on Wednesday, a carefully orchestrated spectacle that appeared designed to showcase their alignment against the U.S. and the West.

Kim took third billing after Putin on the viewing stand for the Victory Day celebrations through central Beijing, standing to Xi’s left while Putin stood to his right. Dignitaries from dozens of other countries, including Iran, Cambodia, Vietnam and Cuba, joined them on the rostrum.

The event marks the first time the DPRK leader