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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to roll out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang today.
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Emboldened by a solid partnership with Moscow, Kim appears eager to showcase North Korea’s resurgence on the international stage.
Having weathered the pandemic behind a strictly locked-down border, Kim has forged a formidable alliance with Russia – even dispatching troops to support the war in Ukraine. This pivot has elevated Pyongyang’s international standing and reduced its reliance on Beijing.
Kim’s calculated show of strength
On the eve of Xi’s arrival, Pyongyang put on a calculated display of strength: unveiling plans for a 10,000-tonne naval destroyer, ordering a dramatic 2.5-fold increase in missile production over five years, and opening a new nuclear material factory, where Kim demanded an “exponential” expansion of the country’s atomic arsenal. The message to the world is clear: North Korea intends to negotiate from a position of unapologetic strength, where it achieved its military milestones without bowing to the United States or engaging with South Korea, and it will not be negotiating its security away.
Analysts suggest that Xi’s visit is not just a diplomatic courtesy, but a crowning achievement for Kim after several years of calculated maneuvering and represents an ostensible “comeback” on the global stage.
Beijing’s official line of denuclearization has noticeably softened, replaced by a more pragmatic approach as China seeks to maintain leverage in the region without alienating its unpredictable neighbor. North Korea, for its part, is unwavering in its nuclear ambitions. Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s powerful sister, drew a hard red line just days before Xi’s visit, declaring North Korea’s status as a nuclear-armed state an “irreversible and final conclusion.”
She fiercely rebuffed as “false” the US assertions that Xi and US President Donald Trump had confirmed a denuclearization goal during a summit last month, and insisted that Pyongyang alone possesses the “most accurate information.”
Her remarks underline the uncompromising “red line” North Korea has drawn for itself – and for its allies.
Trade, tourism, and tensions
Instead, any tangible outcome is likely to center on economic cooperation, as North Korea embarks on a new five-year plan targeting tourism and housing development. Even Singapore’s foreign minister, after a recent visit, acknowledged North Korea’s modest economic progress – a feat, given its international isolation.
Observers widely expect Kim to seek expanded trade and investment with China, as well as a steady flow of Chinese tourists to North Korea’s recently developed resorts.
From isolation to influence
For Xi, this two-day visit – his first in seven years – marks an unmistakable effort to pull Pyongyang back into Beijing’s orbit, at a time when regional power dynamics are in flux.
For Kim, the propaganda value of Xi’s visit is immense. He is hosting a global superpower on his home turf, touting a modernized Pyongyang and recent economic progress, as well as trumpeting North Korea’s elevated international standing to his domestic – and international – audience.
South Korea, meanwhile, is hoping Xi will play the role of mediator, reviving dialogue between Pyongyang, Seoul, and Washington – though North Korea’s sanctioned nuclear program is likely to remain a sticking point.
