Xi calls China–North Korea ties "unbreakable," but Pyongyang's Russia pivot is testing Beijing's leverage.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday for his first visit to North Korea since 2019, at a time when an emboldened Kim Jong Un has expanded his regime's trade and military relationship with Russia .

In a letter published in North Korea's state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper ahead of his visit, Xi wrote, "no matter how times change or how the international situation evolves, the traditional friendship between China and North Korea remains unbreakable, enduring, and constantly radiates vitality."

Since the North Korean dictatorship emerged out of the ashes of the Korean War, China has been Pyongyang's primary geopolitical and financial benefactor .

However, as North Korea provides military support to Russia's war in Ukraine , Xi will be motivated to "consolidate and reconfirm the relationship with the North," said Choo Jae-woo, a professor of foreign policy at South Korea's Kyung Hee University's department of Chinese studies.

Kim and Xi last met in September 2025 at a military parade in Beijing.

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"Kim has been very active in improving his relationship with Russia in the last few years and China clearly feels that it is lagging behind," Choo told DW.

Choo said it was significant that Xi's visit comes ahead of the 65th anniversary of the signing of the China-North Korea "Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance."