A military parade is being held at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japan at the end of World War II, with the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea in attendance.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stood at the center of the Tiananmen Rostrum alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as all the invited state leaders and guests watched over the ceremony.

Xi, Putin and Kim, who stood side by side at the center of a group photo taken before the ceremony, were also spotted exchanging words in front of the other leaders when walking up the steps to the rostrum.

It is the first time the leaders of all three countries have been seen together in Beijing since October 1959, when the city hosted a military parade for the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

China’s choice to display this Cold War-era alignment at an event to be broadcast live around the world, while mobilizing a record 40-thousand people to take part in the parade, is seen as a bid to flaunt its power as the leader of an anti-West coalition.

Meanwhile, South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, who also attended the parade, was seen alongside his wife and other world leaders.

Attention is focused on Kim’s multilateral diplomatic debut, which also marks his first visit to China in six years and eight months.

The North Korean leader, whose daughter, Ju-ae, arrived with him at Beijing Station via train on Tuesday, could hold separate bilateral talks with Xi and Putin after the parade.