Beijing/Pyongyang1 hour ago
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Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week and meet Kim Jong Un there. According to the government media of both the countries, this visit will take place from June 8 to 9. Jinping had earlier visited Pyongyang in 2019.
The visit comes at a time when Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing just a few weeks ago. Both Russia and China play very important roles in North Korea’s foreign policy.
Till a few years ago, China had dominance over North Korea, but now the situation is changing. After the Ukraine war, the closeness between Russia and North Korea has increased a lot. This means that now North Korea is not dependent only on China.
Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un were seen together on the occasion of the Victory Day Parade in China. The picture is from September 2025.
China’s unique treaty with North Korea
China is North Korea’s largest economic and political partner. North Korea has long faced international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program and allegations of human rights violations. In such a situation, China remains the most important support for it.
There is about 1,400 km long border between China and North Korea. There is also a defense treaty between the two countries, which is China’s only military treaty with any country. Under this agreement, if one country is attacked, the other will help it. This year the treaty is completing 65 years.
This visit of Xi Jinping holds great importance for Kim Jong. After the Covid pandemic, international isolation and then supporting Russia in the Ukraine war, North Korea is trying to show itself stronger and more influential than before.
Kim wants the world to see that his country has been successful in surviving despite facing difficult circumstances. At the same time, Xi Jinping would like to remind the world through this visit that North Korea is still largely dependent on China and Beijing cannot be ignored.
Jinping upset with Putin-Kim’s growing closeness
Relations between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin have also strengthened rapidly in recent years. Russia has provided economic and technical assistance to North Korea, while North Korea has provided troops and weapons to Russia in the Ukraine War.
Jinping is not entirely comfortable with the growing closeness between Russia and North Korea. They want China to continue to have influence over North Korea. According to John DeLeury, senior fellow at the Asia Society, China is certainly concerned about the growing closeness of Russia and North Korea and this visit is Xi’s response to that concern.
On the other hand, Kim Jong Un also no longer wants to be treated like China’s junior partner. He can use his growing closeness with Russia to get more economic concessions from China.
Russian President Putin reached North Korea in June 2024. During this, Kim Jong Un greeted him in the welcome ceremony.
Kim Jong Un’s position stronger than ever
Till a few years ago, Kim Jong Un’s position appeared weak. Trump ended nuclear negotiations with them in 2019, dashing hopes of lifting sanctions. After this, North Korea closed its borders during the Covid pandemic.
This brought trade with China to a near standstill, even though China was North Korea’s largest source of goods and foreign exchange. But the situation changed after the pandemic.
Kim took advantage of Russia’s difficulties in the Ukraine war and strengthened ties with Moscow. They provided Russia with weapons and troops, while in return Russia provided billions of dollars in oil, food, weapons technology, and other aid.
In such a situation, Jinping will probably try to remind Kim that China is still North Korea’s biggest economic support. In this direction, in March, China resumed train and air services between Beijing and Pyongyang.
Despite this, Kim wants more. Despite UN sanctions, tourism is one sector which does not have strict restrictions. Kim has invested in resorts on beaches and hot spring projects in mountainous areas to attract more Chinese tourists.
Nuclear issue can be discussed
The issue of resuming US-North Korea talks may also be discussed in the meeting between Jinping and Kim Jong. China has long talked about making the Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons, but in recent years its stance has appeared much softer than before.
After the meeting between Trump and Jinping last month, the White House had said that both want North Korea to have no nuclear weapons and to end its nuclear program. However, when China’s Foreign Ministry was asked a question about this, it directly denied it.
After returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has said several times that he wants to hold a meeting with Kim Jong Un. However, Kim is still firm on his stance. He has clearly said that he will not accept any talks in which his nuclear program is kept on the table.
Kim has long considered nuclear weapons a guarantee of his security. They believe that this program protects them from being overly dependent on China and Russia and protects them from possible attacks by America.
Russia vetoed in support of North Korea
For many years, China, Russia and America had the same objective in the matter of nuclear weapons. These three countries wanted to limit North Korea’s nuclear program. When the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) imposed strict sanctions in 2016 and 2017, Russia-China supported them. But now the situation has changed.
In March 2024, Russia vetoed extending the term of the United Nations (UN) panel that monitored North Korea’s violations of sanctions. That is, the same Russia which had imposed sanctions in 2016-17 has now abolished the institution that monitored those sanctions.
Two years ago, while signing the defense agreement with Kim, Putin had said that North Korea has the right to take appropriate steps to strengthen its defense capability. This was considered support for the nuclear programme.
China’s stance also softened
At the same time, China officially still opposes North Korea armed with nuclear weapons. He fears that this may also lead US allies like South Korea to start their own nuclear weapons programs.
But in recent times, China’s stance has softened somewhat. China now refuses to even condemn North Korea’s missile tests in the UNSC. He blames the US and its military exercises for every test.
For the first time since Xi and Kim met in Beijing last September, official statements from both countries did not mention denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Earlier it used to be a regular part of almost every joint statement.
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