Before the parade began, Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared alongside North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This marked the first time in years that the leaders of North Korea, China and Russia had stood together. Kim Jong-un's attendance is particularly notable, as it is the first time in 66 years that a North Korean leader has attended a Chinese military parade. The last was his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, in 1959. teleSUR