By Joe Cash and Ryan Woo

BEIJING (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un will attend a military parade in Beijing, marking the first public appearance of the two leaders alongside President Xi Jinping in a show of collective defiance amid Western pressure.

No Western leaders will be among the 26 foreign heads of state and government attending the parade next week with the exception of Robert Fico, prime minister of Slovakia, a European Union member state, according to the Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday.

Against the backdrop of China's growing........

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