China and North Korea Rekindle Alliance

Chinese President Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Tuesday after a rare two-day state visit to North Korea, where he and Kim Jong Un publicly reaffirmed their alliance and pledged deeper cooperation across trade, agriculture, construction and technology.

Kim called the visit “the most encouraging support” North Korea could receive and described China as “the most important top-priority strategic work” for his country.

The two leaders met in Pyongyang for Xi’s first trip to North Korea in seven years. During his visit, Xi accompanied Kim on a tour of the China-North Korea friendship tower and planted a tree symbolising bilateral ties.

But it is what was left off the agenda that has drawn the most attention. Analysts say the deliberate omission of denuclearisation discussions signals a significant shift in China’s posture toward its neighbour from Xi’s 2019 visit when he openly backed efforts toward denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula.

“Chinese officials have taken the position of not speaking publicly about denuclearisation while still maintaining it as a long-term goal. Kim appears to want Xi to accept North Korea as a nuclear neighbour,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, as reported by the Associated Press.

North Korea is currently producing enough nuclear material for up to 20 bombs a year, according to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.

According to the Associated Press, experts say Xi’s visit was also a strategic move to reassert China’s influence over Pyongyang ahead of further dealings with US President Donald Trump, who has expressed interest in restarting diplomacy with Kim.