OUTSIZE INFLUENCE

Small in scale but growing in leverage, Kim Jong Un is balancing ties with Xi Jinping’s China to strengthen his hand

- BY TOM O'CONNOR

CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING’S VISIT TO North Korea, just weeks after his back-to-back receptions of President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, underscored an emerging geopolitical position for Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un at a turbulent time for the world order.

Xi’s visit gave Beijing a chance to reassert influence over Pyongyang as Kim benefits from closer ties with Moscow, a growing nuclear arsenal and stalled diplomacy with Washington.

The official purpose was more mundane: Xi’s trip to meet Kim coincided with the 65th anniversary of the 1961 treaty that remains Beijing’s only formal defense pact. However, the circumstances around the deal, which also long constituted Pyongyang’s only formal alliance, have shifted.

In June 2024, Kim exchanged security guarantees with Putin, whom he has aided directly in Russia’s war with Ukraine, marking North Korea’s first major combat deployment since the 1950s war between Chinese and Soviet-backed North Korea—officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)—and South Korea—officially the Republic of Korea—aided by a U.S.-led United Nations coalition.

That Pyongyang-Moscow pact, accompanied with growing recognition of the significance of North Korea’s nuclear status, has also afforded Kim additional leverage in his meticulous balancing act among great powers, a strategy on full display in his meeting with Xi.

“For the North Koreans, Xi Jinping’s visit is important because it demonstrates that a major world leader like Xi Jinping, who typically does not like to travel, is willing to visit Pyongyang,” Joseph Torigian, provost associate professor of global inquiry at American University’s School of International Service, told Newsweek.

“Therefore, this kind of trip helps create the sense that the DPRK is not a pariah state and raises Kim’s stature,” Torigian said.

Leverage and Stability