Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
NK, China stress ‘friendly relations’ as Xi visits Pyongyang
Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrive for a reception marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sept. 3, 2025. Reuters-Yonhap
By Park Ji-won
As Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in North Korea Monday for a two-day state visit, Beijing and Pyongyang moved quickly to project an image of unshakeable friendship — with state media on both sides amplifying rhetoric of blood-forged ties at a moment when North Korea's alignment with Russia has complicated China's position on the peninsula.
Analysts are divided on whether the coordinated signals are merely diplomatic or a precursor to an official elevation of bilateral relations to strategic partnership.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju received Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at Pyongyang's Sunan Airport at noon, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency. The official welcome ceremony was held at Kim Il Sung Square, where a 21-gun salute rang out. Large portraits of both leaders hung at the square's center, flanked by banners reading "Sino-Korean friendship is eternal" and "Long live the friendship and solidarity between the peoples of the two countries" in Korean and Chinese. As the two leaders reviewed the honor guard from the podium, the guards called out in Korean, "Comrade Xi Jinping, be in good health."
Xi made a contribution to North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun ahead of his visit, noting that “The peoples of the two nations had forged a relationship in blood, sharing both joy and sorrow while braving life-and-death situations together.”
The Chinese leader added that "no matter how the international situation changes, the traditional China-North Korea relationship remains unshakable."
China's People's Daily echoed this sentiment Monday in a bilingual commentary, while highlighting Beijing's expanding ties with Pyongyang. The English version stated, "China and the DPRK will surely carry forward their traditional friendship and deepen cooperation for the benefit of their peoples and the cause of peace, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond."
In its Chinese-language edition, the paper went further, saying “Currently, China-DPRK relations stand at a new historical starting point, facing new development opportunities and shouldering new missions of our times. China is willing to work with DPRK to grasp the strategic importance of China-DPRK relations and promote their continuous development in line with the times.”
A building is decorated with the flags of China and North Korea in Pyongyang, Monday. AP-Yonhap
Seoul's unification ministry read the coordinated media coverage as a scene-setting ahead of the summit. "It is to create a mood before the Kim-Xi summit by highlighting the traditional friendly relations between the two," ministry spokesperson Yoon Min-ho said.
Xi's presidential trip to Pyongyang is his first in seven years and comes roughly nine months after the two leaders met in Beijing. It also arrives in the wake of North Korea and Russia signing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement in June 2024, a development that analysts say prompted Beijing to more actively manage its ties with Pyongyang.
China-North Korea relations have historically experienced ups and downs. While the two nations shared an alliance forged in blood until the 1990s, ties began to strain after Beijing established diplomatic relations with Seoul in 1992 and Pyongyang launched its nuclear weapons program.
The relationship remained stalled until recently, when Russia's deepening partnership with North Korea prompted China to step up its engagement.
Experts are mixed on whether the summit will produce a formal upgrade in bilateral ties, which have remained outwardly friendly in recent years despite being largely severed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Though the expressions may seem rhetorical for now, it could pave the way for an official elevation of their bilateral ties. In this light, the recent media coverage should be viewed as a precursor to such a development,” said Kim Young-hyun, professor at Dongguk University.
"The possibility (of raising the level of relations) remains open. Given the circumstances, Pyongyang has no choice but to take a proactive stance (with China); while North Korea-Russia relations is also very important, the North Korea-China relationship also holds significant importance.”
Lee Woo-young, professor at the University of North Korean Studies, dismissed the likelihood of a formal diplomatic upgrade, expecting the summit instead as an effort to manage bilateral ties as Moscow and Pyongyang get closer.
"I do not foresee an official elevation of their bilateral ties. North Korea has maintained a balancing act between China and Russia, meaning it rarely upgrades its relationship with one power at the expense of the other. Rather than a formal diplomatic upgrade, Pyongyang’s true objectives lie in economic pragmatism,” Lee said.
“Pyongyang also finds a pressing need to soothe Beijing's anxieties. Following the Russia-Ukraine war, the tightening bond between Moscow and Pyongyang has made China bothered ... The focus of this summit is likely to be the full restoration of prepandemic economic cooperation and human exchanges.”
On the broader strategic picture, Lee added that as the North Korea issue moves up Washington's agenda, the summit would also serve as an opportunity for Beijing and Pyongyang to coordinate a joint response to U.S. pressure.
“As the North Korean issue will likely be next on Washington's radar, this summit would serve as a strategic coordination for a joint response against the United States,” he said.