One of the most eagerly awaited delegations at the recent Asia Defence Forum in Singapore - and yet one that was largely symbolic - was that of the People's Republic of China, against a backdrop where tensions between neighbours such as North and South Korea are once again flaring up, whilst China and Taiwan are also raising the region's alert level. However, in recent years it appears that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, has looked more to Russia as an ally than to China, and proof of this is the dispatch of weapons and troops to the war in Ukraine on Putin's side.
This is something Beijing now wishes to change, and President Xi Jinping will visit Pyongyang next week to meet with Kim Jong-un and reaffirm their agreements and alliances, according to reports from Reuters. The two countries signed a treaty of cooperation and mutual assistance 65 years ago, which legally obliged them to provide mutual military support in the event of an attack.
Beijing has been working to bring Pyongyang back into its sphere of influence after the COVID-19 pandemic froze trade and closed the border. Passenger train services between the capitals resumed in March, following a six-year suspension, and Air China is once again operating flights between the two capitals, although for the time being tickets are restricted to students and business travellers, not tourists.
According to the Asia Society think tank, "the implicit message from China is that we remain the key player when it comes to North Korea, and one of the recipients of that message is Russia."