Xi Jinping travels to North Korea to prevent Kim Jong-un from leaning towards Moscow
China tries to recover the space of influence that Russia has begun to occupy, especially following the war in Ukraine
BeijingKim Jong-un offered a warm and massive welcome to Xi Jinping upon his arrival in Pyongyang this Monday. The Chinese president is on a two-day state visit to North Korea, in an attempt to revitalize relations between the two countries and strengthen his influence over the North Korean leader, after years of distancing and Kim Jong-un’s rapprochement with Vladimir Putin.
to position itself as a stabilizing actor at the center of the international stage. The State visit takes place after to meet in Beijing with Donald Trump and Vladimir PutinUnlike in 2019, it is no longer the North Korean nuclear program that concerns the international community, but Pyongyang's support for Russia in the invasion of Ukraine. The pincer movement that the three countries – Russia, China, and North Korea – could exert with nuclear weapons is seen as a future threat.
Kim Yo-jong, Kim's influential sister, made it clear in a message last Sunday by asserting that the nuclear program was "an irreversible final conclusion that had to be carried out unconditionally." And she branded Trump's pressures for denuclearization as an "anachronistic dream.
Xi Jinping arrives in Pyongyang at a time when he has managed to position himself as a stabilizing actor on the international stage. The state visit takes place after meeting Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Beijing.
China and North Korea have been taking steps to restore their relations: Xi invited Kim Jong-un last September to the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia. At that time, Putin, Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping showed good harmony and staged their alliance in an event that had practically no presence of Western leaders.
The military industry at the service of Russia
The rapprochement of the North Korean leader with Moscow worries Beijing, which has always been its main ally and trading partner. Kim Jong-un signed a mutual defense pact with Vladimir Putin in 2024 and has placed its military industry at Russia's service, to which it has sent about ten thousand soldiers. It is believed that about 2,300 North Korean soldiers have died in Ukraine. In return, Pyongyang would have received aid to develop its military program.
Despite the rapprochement with Russia, China continues to be the main economic support for the North Korean regime. The country is subjected to heavy sanctions and China accounts for 90% of its legal trade. Beijing provides food aid, consumer goods, and fertilizers. Last year, exports from the Asian giant to North Korea reached $2.3 billion, the highest level in the last six years. Since the beginning of the year, passenger train services between Beijing and Pyongyang have also been restored. However, tourism has not recovered and now it is Russians who go on vacation to North Korea and occupy the resorts recently built on the beaches.
Xi, who is traveling accompanied by the head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, is making this visit before the 65th anniversary of the signing of the treaty of friendship and mutual assistance between China and North Korea. For now, it is the only defense agreement that China maintains with another country. With this trip, Xi Jinping intends to strengthen China's role as North Korea's main ally and economic partner.
