North Korea deepens ties with China, Russia as dialogue with Trump remains distant

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North Korea deepens ties with China, Russia as dialogue with Trump remains distant

Published: 06 Nov. 2025, 00:03

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Cha Se-hyeon

The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Sometimes it is not words but movements and numbers that reveal a nation’s true intentions.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declined U.S. President Donald Trump’s request for a meeting during Trump's visit to South Korea. Instead of preparing for a possible encounter, Kim made symbolic moves that pointed in another direction.

A wreath was laid at the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang on Oct. 25 to mark the 75th anniversary of China’s entry into the Korean War, according to Korean Central Television on Oct. 26. The wreaths were sent in the name of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Kim Song-nam, director of the party’s International Department, and Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun attended the ceremony. [KOREAN CENTRAL TELEVISION]

On Oct. 25, to mark the 75th anniversary of China’s entry into the Korean War, Kim visited the cemetery of the Chinese People’s Volunteers in North Korea. He laid flowers at the grave of Mao Anying, the eldest son of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, who died during the war. A year earlier, for the 74th anniversary, Kim sent only a wreath to the Sino-Korean Friendship Tower in Pyongyang, a landmark visited by almost every Chinese delegation.

On Saturday, while South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hosted a Seoul-Beijing summit in Gyeongju, Kim visited North Korea’s 11th Corps, an elite special operations unit also known as the Storm Corps. The unit includes personnel sent to Russia’s Kursk region. State media released images of a smiling Kim surrounded by soldiers after an inspection. North Korea's state media, the Korean Central News Agency, said he praised their readiness to defend national sovereignty against what it called “the most despicable and vile enemies on earth.”

Kim Jong-un, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, visited the headquarters of the Korean People’s Army 11th Corps on Nov. 1, the Korean Central Television reported on Nov. 2. The 11th Corps, known as the “Storm Corps,” is an elite special operations unit under the special forces deployed to Russia. The image shows Kim observing training by special forces soldiers and posing for a commemorative photo with troops during his visit. [KOREAN CENTRAL TELEVISION]

Pyongyang's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has also been active. Between September and October, she visited China, Russia and Belarus, signaling a full resumption of North Korea’s diplomatic outreach to its two largest backers.

Then there are the numbers. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, Chinese exports to North Korea in September totaled $228.1 million, a surge of 54.5 percent from August and 30.8 percent from a year earlier. The main exports included soybean oil, hair for wigs, asphalt and sugar. The increase came shortly after Kim attended China’s Victory Day ceremony in Beijing, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many analysts expect October’s figures to show even higher growth.

Chinese Ambassador to Pyongyang Wang Yajun has maintained a highly visible schedule since September. He attended Pyongyang’s international trade fair and expressed strong interest in North Korea’s “20×10 policy,” Kim’s plan to build modern factories in 20 cities and counties each year for the next decade. Wang said China would help match North Korean regional projects with Chinese businesses.

These movements and numbers all point in one direction: a tightening of North Korea’s strategic alignment with China and Russia. In Pyongyang, some now refer to this emerging posture as “security from Russia, economy from China.”

Against this backdrop, Trump’s attempt to rekindle personal diplomacy with Kim appeared mistimed. In 2019, Kim eagerly accepted Trump’s surprise invitation for a brief meeting during the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan. This time, the response was the opposite. On the day before Trump arrived in South Korea, North Korea launched a new strategic cruise missile with a reported range of 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles), capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The launch coincided with Trump’s visit to the U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington in Yokosuka with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Yet Trump brushed aside the rejection. On his return flight, he said, “We didn’t have a chance to talk because I was very busy. I’ll be back.”

Some officials and analysts believe there may still be an opening in the spring. Trump has announced plans to visit China in April. South Korean intelligence officials say the period after the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills in March could mark a turning point on the peninsula. They note that Kim, during the Supreme People’s Assembly in September, suggested conditional talks with the United States and has since toned down references to nuclear weapons.

Kim Jong-un, leader of North Korea, left, walks with U.S. President Donald Trump, center and President Moon Jae-in toward the military demarcation line after their meeting at the Freedom House on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on June 30, 2019. [YONHAP]

Still, observers caution that intentions should be judged not by words, but by actions and trade volumes. Only when Kim’s visits to China and Russia decrease and North Korea-China trade begins to slow might the so-called Trump-Kim diplomacy be revived.

History suggests it is not impossible. Pyongyang has experienced conflict and strain with both Beijing and Moscow in the past. Should tensions reappear, a renewed opening to Washington cannot be ruled out.

If that day comes, Trump may again send a letter like the one he wrote to Kim after their meeting in the demilitarized zone, proclaiming confidence that the United States has the ability to lead North Korea to tremendous prosperity with a deal that would inspire future generations.

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.