Foreign media also pay attention to Xi Jinping's first visit to North Korea in seven years: "A move to counter Russia and restore influence over North Korea"

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\r\n[Financial News] As Xi Jinping, president of China, has decided to visit North Korea for the first time in seven years, major foreign media outlets have focused on the background and significance of the trip. They interpreted it as an effort by China to reaffirm its influence over North Korea and step up competition for leadership in Northeast Asia, as North Korea and Russia have drawn rapidly closer since the Russo-Ukrainian war.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 4th (local time) in an article titled "Why Xi Jinping is visiting North Korea to win over Kim Jong Un" that the trip is an attempt to restore ties with North Korea, which has recently tilted toward Russia.
John Delury, a senior fellow at Asia Society, told NYT, "China is clearly concerned about the growing closeness between North Korea and Russia," adding, "This visit will help ease some of those concerns."
William Yang, a senior Northeast Asia analyst at International Crisis Group (ICG), also told AP that China is trying to reaffirm its influence over Pyongyang and protect its strategic interests in Northeast Asia through the visit.
North Korea has significantly strengthened its ties with Russia since the Russo-Ukrainian war began. In return for sending troops to Russia, North Korea has received oil, food, and weapons support, and the two countries signed a Mutual Defense Treaty in 2024. As a result, analysts say North Korea's decades-long dependence on China has fallen sharply compared with the past.
By contrast, relations between China and North Korea have become relatively strained since COVID-19. Experts believe Xi will use this visit as an opportunity to restore North Korea-China relations and strengthen China's influence in Northeast Asia again.
Xi's choice of North Korea as the destination for his first overseas trip of the year has also drawn attention. Analysts say he is pursuing a strategy of maintaining diplomatic balance on the Korean Peninsula by alternating visits to South Korea and North Korea.
However, expectations are low that the issue of North Korea denuclearization will be a key agenda item at the summit. Ahead of Xi's visit, North Korea unveiled a new nuclear material production facility, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening its nuclear capabilities.
Although Xi said at last month's U.S.-China summit that he would work toward achieving the goal of North Korea denuclearization, NK News, a U.S.-based media outlet specializing in North Korea, predicted that the issue is unlikely to be discussed in depth at the North Korea-China summit.
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km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter