Xi Jinping meets North Korea's premier in Beijing as China-DPRK friendship treaty reaches 65th anniversary

Summary

North Korea's Cabinet Premier Pak Thae-song arrived in Beijing on July 10 to attend events marking the 65th anniversary of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance, signed in 1961. Xi Jinping met Pak personally, an unusual step for a premier-level visit, and called on both sides to strengthen a "combat friendship forged in blood," a phrase invoking Chinese and North Korean soldiers who fought together in the Korean War. The MFA readout from Beijing described Xi as calling for stronger strategic coordination, with Kim Jong UN not present. Pak's visit is among the most senior DPRK engagements with Beijing in recent years, coming as China and North Korea have deepened defence ties and as Pyongyang continues to resist returning to international diplomacy.

The split

South Korean media, the Korea Times and Kyunghyang Shinmun, tracked the visit primarily for security signals, asking whether Beijing would use the occasion to offer Pyongyang arms-related or economic commitments. SCMP read Xi's "combat friendship" language as a rare deliberate signal of solidarity, noting the phrase directly invokes the Korean War and carries heavier weight than standard diplomatic language. The Chinese MFA readout focused on mutual benefit and long-term bilateral stability. North Korean state media's framing was not available in the crawl feed.

By the numbers

• 65, years since the 1961 China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance was signed
• 1961, the treaty's origin date, during the early Cold War alignment of socialist states
• Pak Thae-song, DPRK Cabinet Premier, a senior government figure though below Kim Jong-un in the hierarchy

Why it matters

The China-DPRK alliance is the primary diplomatic lifeline for North Korea and the main constraint on international pressure against Pyongyang's nuclear program. Xi's personal attendance at the meeting, rather than delegating to a vice premier, signals Beijing is investing in the relationship at a moment when its strategic rivalry with Washington is intensifying. The treaty's mutual-aid clause has rarely been invoked, but its continued existence constrains what any US-led coalition could do militarily on the Korean Peninsula.

What to watch

• Whether any economic or military cooperation agreements were signed or announced alongside the anniversary events
• Kim Jong-un's absence and whether a separate Xi-Kim summit follows
• North Korean state media's framing of the visit, for any departure from standard alliance language