In 1961, the two countries signed a pact obliging one country to assist the other in the event of an attack.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in a statement to Chinese President Xi Jinping that he was keen to develop “friendly and cooperative relations” between the two countries, according to the North Korean state news agency.
The tone is equally friendly in the president’s corresponding message addressed to Kim, and Xi points out that the two countries “have undoubtedly supported each other”.
With economic difficulties, especially as a result of the pandemic, as well as harsh sanctions from the United States, it is expected that North Korea will look to China for support. China, for its part, sees it as crucial that it avoids a North Korean collapse in view of its own security interests. They therefore want to strengthen their ties with North Korea and other allies while their rivalry with the United States continues, according to experts.
China fought alongside North Korea in the Korean War in the 1950s, while US-led UN forces supported South Korea. Nearly 30,000 US troops are still stationed in South Korea to help keep tensions between the two Korean countries at a low level.
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