Xi Urges China, North Korea to Maintain 'Strategic Resolve'
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- Xi Jinping told North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song in Beijing on July 10 that the two countries must maintain 'strategic resolve' and 'strategic confidence' amid an 'international situation intertwined with changes and turmoil.'
- The meeting coincides with the 65th anniversary of the July 11, 1961 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance — China's only active mutual defense pact.
- Xi called for faster implementation of consensus he reached with Kim Jong Un during his first visit to Pyongyang in seven years last month, covering expanded cooperation in politics, economy, and culture.
- China-North Korea ties have warmed markedly since late 2025, including the resumption of passenger train services and direct flights between their capitals after COVID-era freezes.
- Beijing is working to draw Pyongyang back into its orbit after Kim deepened ties with Moscow by sending troops and weapons to support Russia's war in Ukraine.
- Analysts flagged limits to how far North Korea is willing to rebalance toward China, citing the economic support it has received from Russia in return for closer alignment.
- Pak Thae Song, 70, became premier in December 2024 after a career in the Workers' Party and has been a member of Kim Jong Un's inner circle since the early years of his rule.
Why it matters: Beijing is using the 65th anniversary of its sole active mutual defense pact — signed in 1961 and still in force — to publicly reaffirm the alliance at a moment when North Korea has materially backed Russia's war effort in Ukraine. The anniversary gives Xi a stage to remind Pyongyang, Washington, and Seoul that the treaty remains on the books even as analysts question whether Kim is willing to meaningfully rebalance away from Moscow.
