Analysis of North Korean Summit Coverage... 38 North: "North Korea-China Relations Not Fully Restored"

Some Positive Language Included,
But Coverage Unusually Brief
Kim Jong Un and Putin: Relationship Still "Strong"

According to an analysis of North Korean media reports on the recent summit between Kim Jong Un, Chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, and Xi Jinping, President of China, the U.S.-based North Korea-focused outlet 38 North reported on September 8 (local time) that North Korea-China relations do not appear to have been fully restored yet.

Yonhap News Agency

The outlet pointed out that Chairman Kim's attendance at the 80th anniversary Victory Day military parade in China and the summit with President Xi was "an opportunity for Kim to reaffirm strong ties with Russia and to rebuild relations with China, which have been strained over the past two years."

It further analyzed, "Although some positive language was included in the coverage of the Kim Jong Un-Xi Jinping summit, it did not reach the level of previous reports on Kim-Xi summits, suggesting that North Korea and China have not yet fully restored their relationship."

In contrast, the outlet assessed that North Korean media coverage of the summit between Chairman Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin "demonstrates that the relationship between North Korea and Russia remains strong and long-term oriented."

38 North explained that North Korean outlets devoted less coverage to the North Korea-China summit compared to the Kim-Putin meeting, and described the related reports as "unusually ambiguous," making it difficult to gauge how Pyongyang truly views the outcome of the summit.

The outlet also pointed out that, among the six Kim Jong Un-Xi Jinping summits to date, North Korean media reports on the outcome of this most recent meeting were the shortest.

38 North analyzed that while past North Korea-China summit reports by North Korean media included relatively specific references to discussion topics such as "the situation on the Korean Peninsula" or "the nuclear issue," this time the coverage used broader and more ambiguous phrases such as "international and regional issues."

Although positive expressions regarding North Korea-China relations appeared in several places in North Korean media coverage, they were largely ceremonial, and, unlike in previous summits, some formalized expressions indicating a unified stance between the two countries were missing.

However, the outlet noted that, in connection with Chairman Kim's statement that "Korea will continue to fully and unwaveringly support the positions and efforts of the Communist Party of China and the government of the People's Republic of China to safeguard national sovereignty, territorial stability, and development interests," the Taiwan issue was mentioned in an unprecedented manner.

38 North stated, "Regarding North Korea-China relations, the letter that Chairman Kim is expected to send to President Xi on October 1, China's National Day (marking the proclamation of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949), will be one of the earliest indicators of North Korea's intentions toward China."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.