All foreign leaders visiting Beijing next month, including South Korean President Park Geun-hye, are to attend a huge military parade marking the end of World War II, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming said Tuesday.

The remarks by Zhang confirmed that South Korean President Park Geun-hye is expected to attend the military parade on Sept. 3, a massive show of military strength that will involve 12,000 soldiers and 200 aircraft.

Park will be in China from Sept. 2-4 to attend the war commemoration events in Beijing, but Seoul officials said it remains undecided whether she will attend the military parade.

Asked whether Park will attend the parade, Zhang replied, "All foreign leaders visiting China will take part in important activities, including the Sept. 3 commemorative event."

Shortly after Zhang's comments, Guo Weimin, deputy director at the Information Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, said the commemorative event means the military parade.

Leaders of major Western countries have shunned the parade, which is expected to demonstrate China's fast-growing military capabilities and highlight the rivalry between China and Japan.

Zhang said about 30 heads of state, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, will attend the Sept. 3 commemorations.

Other countries that will send their heads of state to the military parade include Cambodia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, South Africa, Tajikistan and Venezuela.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will not attend.

Zhang said a high-ranking North Korean official, Choe Ryong-hae, will come to Beijing early next month to attend the parade.

North Korea, a key ally of China, will not send its troops or military delegation to the parade, according to the Chinese officials.

South Korea is among 30 nations that will send a "high-level military delegation" to the parade, they said.

Most Western leaders have been widely expected to skip the Chinese parade because their attendance could send a wrong message amid Beijing's increasingly assertive actions in territorial disputes with its neighbors. (Yonhap)