China is rebuilding its grip on north Korea. is kim jong un ready to oblige?

China is rebuilding its grip on North Korea. Is Kim Jong Un ready to oblige?

China-North Korea Relations: Renewed Engagement and Economic Ties

By Mei Mei Chu, Ju-min Park and Claire Fu

Diplomatic Thaw and High-Level Visits

DANDONG/SEOUL/SINGAPORE, March 11 (Reuters) - When Kim Jong Un arrived by armored train in Beijing for a military parade in September, the pageantry signaled a thaw in one of the world's most important relationships after several years of frosty ties.

Behind the spectacle of tanks and fighter jets, North Korea's leader brought a senior economic team to talk trade and investment. Five weeks later, Chinese Premier Li Qiang reciprocated in Pyongyang, and China's ambassador declared both countries were "writing a new chapter."

Strategic Motives and Shifting Alliances

For China, the mission is clear: reassert its traditional influence over a neighbor that has drawn closer to Russia since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. North Korea has supplied troops and weapons to Moscow in exchange for fuel and food to shore up an economy hobbled by U.N. sanctions over its nuclear-weapons program.

A Reuters examination reveals how Beijing is deepening engagement with North Korea as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to visit China and expresses interest in reviving talks with Kim for the first time since 2019. Satellite imagery shows China and North Korea are installing new infrastructure along the border — including roadworks and port facilities, some not previously reported — and forging closer economic links that boost Beijing's sway over any U.S. overtures to Pyongyang.

Documenting the Shift: Methods and Sources

To document the shift, Reuters reviewed trade data, traveled along parts of the 1,350-kilometer border and interviewed some three dozen people, including North Korean waitresses, Chinese business owners with factories in North Korea, Western tour operators, and a Chinese government official. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.

Cautious Rapprochement and Economic Realities

The rapprochement is cautious: North Korea shut its borders in 2020 in response to COVID-19 and remains largely closed to tourism, even as passenger-train services to the country from China resume this week. And Kim's pivot to Moscow in recent years has diversified his political and economic partners amid continued sanctions pressure. Still, his intensifying cooperation with China positions North Korea for a wider reopening that some analysts said would enable Beijing to reinforce its smaller neighbor's economic dependence and signal to Trump that his top strategic rival holds the key to shaping Kim's actions.

Trade Growth and Political Messaging

China's exports to North Korea reached a six-year high of $2.3 billion last year, a 25% annual increase. In November, China dropped its longstanding call for North Korea's denuclearization from an official arms-control white paper. In a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 9, Kim said cooperation between the two countries "will become even closer in the future as we advance the common cause of socialism," North Korean state media reported.

"Discussions across all areas - politics, economy, security, and military - have kicked off, laying ground for relations to take a leap," said Lim Eul-chul, a professor who studies North Korea at South Korea's Kyungnam University.

International Reactions

Asked about China's courting of North Korea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters that Russia welcomes greater cooperation in the region, which contributes to stability and security.

Beijing's foreign ministry told Reuters that China and North Korea have been "actively advancing border cooperation" to foster exchanges, without addressing Pyongyang's ties with Moscow. North Korea's mission to the U.N. and its embassy in Beijing didn't respond to questions.

Bridging the Divide: Infrastructure and Border Developments

Modernizing Border Crossings

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

In the frontier city of Dandong, China has shown its readiness for a surge in cross-border traffic. In May, road markings reading "Truck Entry Lane" and "Passenger Vehicle Entry Lane" were painted onto the Chinese side of the unopened New Yalu River Bridge, which spans the border with North Korea, satellite images show. A new sports court has been installed at Dandong New Zone's dormant customs facility.

Satellite Evidence and New Facilities

Recent construction is evident at other Chinese border stations, including roadworks and new facilities at the northernmost Quanhe port; and new pavement and buildings at Nanping and Sanhe, which Reuters is reporting for the first time. Reuters' analysis of satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs was corroborated by Center for Strategic and International Studies analysts Joseph Bermudez Jr. and Jennifer Jun.

North Korea has also been building what CSIS experts say is a customs and immigration facility, as well as warehouse and cargo-transfer buildings, on its side of the unopened bridge. After a 15-year delay, North Korea spent most of last year working on the project before construction stalled in November. Reuters couldn't determine why the work was paused.

Operational Steps and Resumption of Rail Links

The infrastructure work is now being matched by operational steps. China announced this week that passenger-train services between Beijing, Dandong and Pyongyang would resume Thursday for the first time in six years. Tickets are limited to travelers with a North Korean business visa, a sales-office representative in Beijing told Reuters.

Tourism and Trade Activity

While tourism to North Korea hasn't officially resumed — Pyongyang canceled an international marathon scheduled for April — the revival of the rail connection is a positive sign for the eventual return of tourists, said Rowan Beard, co-founder of travel operator Young Pioneer Tours. Chinese travelers accounted for the bulk of tourists to North Korea before the border closure.

When Reuters traveled to Dandong in January, peddlers on the riverfront promenade were selling lapel pins emblazoned with Kim's portrait, while touts offered boat trips to visitors. A steady stream of Chinese trucks carried goods such as cloth, soybean oil, tires, and frozen duck meat across the old Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge toward North Korean guards.

At the Song