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Xi heads to Pyongyang
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to travel to North Korea for a two-day visit, his first in nearly seven years, with a meeting expected with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.
“North Korean leader Kim showcases new warship ahead of visit by China's Xi North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed sea trials of a new warship repaired after a failed launch last year and vowed to accelerate efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy, state media said Saturday, showcasing his expanding military capabilities ahead”
The Guardian says the trip comes as China seeks to “revitalise ties with his junior ally,” with North Korea described as China’s only formal treaty ally and their relationship strained by a virtual freeze in trade during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Al Jazeera frames the timing as significant because Xi has not travelled to Pyongyang since 2019, and it quotes William Yang saying, “For Xi Jinping to be the one who decides to travel to Pyongyang, it shows the level of significance that China attaches to this trip.”
The Guardian also links the visit to a wider regional balancing act, noting Xi’s trip comes less than one month after Donald Trump visited Beijing and that Kim Yo-jong called claims that Xi and Trump discussed denuclearisation “false.”
Leverage amid Russia ties
The BBC describes Xi’s visit as likely “less about friendship, more about leverage,” citing Western diplomatic sources that China is increasingly concerned about the growing partnership between Pyongyang and Moscow.
The BBC adds that after meeting Russian leader Vladimir Putin last week, Xi may want to ensure he also keeps Kim Jong Un in check, especially as Beijing increases its presence on the global stage.
The Guardian reports that John Delury said North Korea’s closeness with Russia is “over the top paeans” in propaganda and that “Whereas with China it’s kind of nostalgic,” arguing Pyongyang does not want Russia’s closeness to outpace ties with China too much.
In the same BBC account, China is said to have only one formal defence treaty, and it is described as unlikely to welcome a scenario where Russia becomes the dominant influence in Pyongyang.
Nuclear and regional stakes
The BBC says China wants stability on its border and influence in Pyongyang “but without being dragged into crises triggered by North Korea’s nuclear ambitions,” and it notes Beijing has not endorsed Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
“- Published For Chinese leader Xi Jinping, North Korea is the neighbour China can neither control nor afford to lose”
It also reports that in 2022 China and Russia vetoed a US-led United Nations resolution to impose new sanctions over North Korea’s missile tests, and it quotes Victor Cha saying, “this would only push North Korea more into the arms of Putin.”
The Guardian adds that Kim called for an “exponential” expansion of the country’s atomic arsenal after North Korea unveiled a new nuclear material production factory, and it says a bigger priority for Xi than nuclear talks will be defending China’s own security interests in north-east Asia.
Al Jazeera, meanwhile, says North Korea has provided Russia with critical weapons, artillery and manpower, and it quotes the South Korea’s Institute for National Security Strategy estimating that since 2023 Moscow has paid North Korea as much as $14.4bn for troop deployments and the export of “artillery, shells, and guided and ballistic missiles”.
