China and North Korea Exchange High-Level Visits Amid Deepening Russia Ties

North Korea's state media reported that Jo Yong Won, a senior Workers' Party official, held talks with Chinese Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Huning in Pyongyang on July 15, emphasizing the need to strengthen bilateral unity under the 1961 friendship treaty. Wang also met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Days earlier, North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song visited Beijing and met Chinese leader Xi Jinping. These reciprocal visits follow Xi's own summit with Kim in Pyongyang a month prior, his first in seven years. Officially commemorating the 65th anniversary of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, the exchanges are driven by the current geopolitical environment, particularly North Korea's deepening ties with Russia amid Moscow's war in Ukraine. China has notably refrained from raising denuclearization in official readouts, signaling a shift toward de facto recognition of North Korea as a nuclear state and aligning more closely with Pyongyang against U.S.-led pressure.