China-North Korea Friendship: What Xi's Pyongyang Visit Signals

Xi Jinping is in Pyongyang on June 8-9, 2026 — his first North Korea state visit in seven years.

A Xinhua commentary framed the trip around the 'time-honored' China-DPRK friendship and the treaty's 65th anniversary.

The real subtext: China is racing to reassert influence as North Korea drifts toward Russia.

Kim has sent troops and weapons to Russia's Ukraine war, unsettling Beijing's grip on its ally.

For India, a tighter China-Russia-North Korea axis sharpens the case for strategic autonomy.