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As Pyongyang draws old and new allies closer, Seoul’s alliances waver

Published: 10 Oct. 2025, 20:05

North Korea held a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea at May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on Oct. 9, attended by leader Kim Jong-un, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev and Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, the Korean Central Television reported on Oct. 10. [KOREAN CENTRAL TELEVISION]

As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un marked the 80th anniversary of his ruling Workers’ Party, he used the occasion to showcase a widening network of partners, drawing China, Russia and Vietnam into a tableau of anti-Western solidarity in Pyongyang.

Later this month, as world leaders gather in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, the Korean Peninsula again stands at the intersection of rival strategies — with Seoul caught between deepening cooperation with the United States and Japan and its uneasy ties with Beijing and Moscow.

North Korea hosts China, Russia and Vietnam

According to the Rodong Sinmun on Friday, Kim addressed a mass rally at Pyongyang’s May Day Stadium the previous evening, declaring, “The international prestige of our Republic as a faithful member of the socialist forces and a bulwark for independence and justice is further increasing with each passing day.”

“Our Party has [...] made an enormous historic contribution to implementing the common cause of mankind for justice and peace,” he said before adding that it is “coping with our adversaries' ferocious political and military moves of pressure.”

Kim added that North Korea is “powerfully propelling the growth of the progressive camp against war and hegemony.”

Although Kim highlighted his country's role within the anti-Western bloc, he avoided naming South Korea or the United States, signaling that his remarks were aimed more at domestic audiences than at confrontation abroad. Analysts said the tone reflected a focus on internal unity rather than escalation.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, front left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, front right, in Pyongyang, North Korea on Oct. 9. [XINHUA]

Photographs released by state media showed Kim seated alongside Li Qiang, the Chinese premier, and Dmitry Medvedev, the chairman of Russia’s ruling United Russia party and deputy chairman of its Security Council.

It was the first visible reaffirmation of the North Korea-China-Russia triangle since Kim joined Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Tiananmen Gate during China’s Victory Day parade last month.

This time, Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam sat immediately to Kim’s left, with Li Qiang on his right and Medvedev next to Lam — forming a symbolic lineup of China, North Korea, Vietnam and Russia. Analysts viewed the lineup as Kim’s attempt to expand North Korea’s alignment beyond China and Russia by drawing in other socialist allies.

Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said Kim appears “to strengthen North Korea’s geopolitical leverage by broadening its network of socialist partners while consolidating ties with Beijing and Moscow.”

The North’s ruling party newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, reported on Oct. 10 that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam the previous day. In the photo, To is seen on the left, and Kim on the right. [RODONG SINMUN]

Hints of strain in North Korea-Russia relations

Some observers saw the seating arrangement as a hint of strain between Pyongyang and Moscow. Medvedev met only with Jo Yong-won, the secretary for organizational affairs of the Workers’ Party's central committee, and not with Kim himself — a sign, analysts said, that Russia may not have brought enough to merit a leader-level meeting.

Kim did, however, attend a performance by a visiting Russian art troupe at the Mansudae Art Theatre on Thursday. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers last month that “differences emerged” during the Kim-Putin summit, suggesting friction between the two sides.

China, meanwhile, has stepped up efforts to rebuild trust and routine engagement with North Korea.

The Rodong Sinmun on Friday carried a letter from Xi expressing his wish for “strengthening strategic communication” with North Korea — a gesture seen as reaffirming the Beijing-Pyongyang partnership ahead of Xi’s expected meeting with U.S. and Japanese leaders at APEC.

Xi’s potential trip to Korea, his first in 11 years, is expected to include a bilateral summit with President Lee Jae Myung — a move analysts say could help Beijing pull Seoul closer to its orbit. Russia, for its part, will send Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk to APEC, ensuring both Moscow and Beijing maintain a presence on the peninsula within weeks of each other.

Fragile coordination among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo

President Lee Jae Myung meets with U.S. President Donald Trump for a Korea-U.S. summit at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

While North Korea, China and Russia project unity, uncertainty surrounds the possibility of a trilateral summit among South Korea, the United States and Japan during APEC.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s expected stay in South Korea — from Oct. 29 to 30 — is shorter than planned, and Japan’s political transition following the election of Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi has complicated scheduling. Trump may hold bilateral meetings with Lee and Xi before leaving early, diminishing chances for a three-way gathering.

Washington and Seoul remain locked in final-stage negotiations over tariffs, a dispute likely to dominate the APEC agenda alongside U.S.-China trade talks. Analysts warn the focus on trade could overshadow efforts to counter the growing alignment among Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow.

In Tokyo, Takaichi’s past visits to the Yasukuni Shrine — a controversial Shinto shrine that commemorates Japan's war dead, including war criminals from World War II — have drawn criticism from the coalition partner Komeito, delaying the parliamentary session needed to confirm her as prime minister.

Even if Seoul and Tokyo manage a bilateral meeting during APEC, experts say its tone and outcome could shape the future of trilateral cooperation with Washington. Uncertainty also lingers over the possibility of a three-way meeting at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia later this month.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE YU-JUNG,CHEONG YEONG-GYO,PARK HYUN-JU [[email protected]]