China, Russia step up dual-track engagement with 2 Koreas

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, front right, ushers in Chinese Premier Li Qiang, front left, in Pyongyang, Thursday, in this photo released by Xinhua News Agency. AP-Yonhap

China and Russia are pursuing dual-track diplomacy with both Koreas, as top officials have visited North Korea and are planning to visit South Korea for different diplomatic events.

The back-to-back visits are drawing attention to Beijing and Moscow’s diplomatic outreach on the Korean Peninsula, underscoring their growing regional ambitions.

Considering that both countries historically have closer ties with Pyongyang than with Seoul, the visits are seen as strategies to maintain amicable ties with the North while improving those with the South to check the Seoul-Washington alliance.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, the country’s second-highest-ranking official after President Xi Jinping, visited Pyongyang on Thursday to attend a military parade on Friday, marking the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. It was the first visit by a Chinese premier to Pyongyang since 2018.

According to Pyongyang’s state media, Li and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un discussed expanding “strategic communication and cooperation” across multiple fields.

Russia sent Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council and chairman of the ruling United Russia party, to the same event. A close ally of President Vladimir Putin and widely regarded as Russia’s second-most powerful political figure, his attendance reaffirmed Moscow’s solidarity with North Korea, following last year’s Putin–Kim summit.

Dmitry Medvedev, left, chairman of Russia’s ruling United Russia party, arrives in Pyongyang, Thursday, to attend celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, in this photo from the Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap

These visits come just weeks before Chinese President Xi is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, slated for Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. It will be his first visit to South Korea in 11 years.

Instead of Putin, against whom an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court has been issued, Alexei Overchuk, Russia’s deputy prime minister for international affairs, is set to lead the Russian delegation to the APEC event in Gyeongju.

These visits mark Russia's first high-level engagement since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine more than three years ago.

Analysts in Seoul view the timing as deliberate, suggesting that China is seeking to balance its engagement with the two Koreas while countering the growing regional cooperation between the U.S., South Korea and Japan.

For Moscow, strengthening its presence on both sides of the peninsula serves to reinforce its partnership with North Korea while signaling openness to improving relations with Seoul.

According to South Korean experts, Li and Medvedev’s participation in Pyongyang’s military event was arranged through separate diplomatic channels. However, their appearance has similar implications: Beijing and Moscow are intent on projecting influence in the shifting geopolitical landscape of Northeast Asia.

Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, said that Pyongyang is seeking to use this opportunity to reshape regional diplomacy around itself.

“North Korea appears intent on weakening the influence of hostile countries such as the U.S. and South Korea by strengthening its alignment with China and Russia,” he said.

“In the short term, inviting high-level foreign guests helps ensure the success of the party anniversary events, but in the longer term, it could enhance North Korea’s influence within East Asia.”