China Asserts "Blood Alliance" with North Korea on 65th Anniversary of Friendship Treaty as Top 5 CCP Leaders Attend

Following Prime Minister Pak Tae-song’s Visit to China, Wang Huning Makes Return Trip
High-Ranking Exchanges Signal Broader Cooperation
Focus on Potential for Enhanced Security and Military Collaboration

The top five ranking members of the Chinese Communist Party all attended the 65th anniversary event marking the Treaty of Friendship between North Korea and China. Following Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pyongyang last month—his first in seven years—top-level officials from both countries shuttled between Beijing and Pyongyang, demonstrating their strategic alliance both domestically and internationally.

Around the treaty's anniversary on the 11th, North Korea and China dispatched high-level delegations to each other. North Korean Premier Pak Tae-song visited China from the 10th to the 12th, meeting consecutively with President Xi Jinping (ranked 1st in power), Premier of the State Council Li Qiang (2nd), Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee Zhao Leji (3rd), and Secretary of the Secretariat of the Communist Party Central Committee Cai Qi (5th). Shortly afterward, on the 15th, Wang Huning, Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and ranked 4th in China, visited North Korea for three days and two nights and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and others.

According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 10th, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan, who were on a two-day state visit to North Korea at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, departed Pyongyang on the afternoon of the 9th by private plane. At Pyongyang International Airport, Leader Kim and his wife Ri Sol-ju saw them off. Korean Central News Agency Yonhap News

The level of participating officials at the anniversary event is unusually high compared to previous years. At the 60th anniversary in 2021, which was impacted by COVID-19, only personal letters were exchanged between the leaders. In 2011, at the 50th anniversary, the officials dispatched were at the vice-premier level.

Both sides emphasized strategic cooperation through these high-level exchanges. Kim Jong Un assessed that the treaty defines the strategic character of bilateral relations. President Xi mentioned creating external conditions to safeguard the sovereignty and security of both countries. The fact that the defense minister was present during Xi's visit to North Korea earlier also raises the possibility of closer security cooperation. Im Eulchul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, analyzed, “Through these high-level personnel exchanges, North Korea and China reaffirmed the spirit of ‘mutual assistance,’ which implies automatic military intervention in emergencies,” and added, “This signals that North Korea and China can unite militarily and strategically at any time in response to increased cooperation between South Korea, the United States, and Japan, as well as U.S. pressure.”

Given the composition of this high-level exchange, some observers believe that joint economic cooperation projects between the two countries may become more tangible. During his visit to China, Premier Pak toured the Beijing Subway Operational Control Center. When Chairman Wang visited North Korea and met with Jo Yong-won, Secretary of the Workers’ Party, Kang Chol-ho, Vice Minister of Urban Management, was present, suggesting discussions may have included practical cooperation in urban development and transportation infrastructure.

Beneath this show of friendship, there are also subtle differences stemming from each country’s security interests. Yang Moo-Jin, a Distinguished Professor at the University of North Korean Studies, commented that Kim’s emphasis on the treaty’s importance “served to alleviate concerns that China might feel following the signing of the North Korea-Russia treaty while also underlining to both domestic and international audiences that the legal and institutional foundation of the traditional North Korea-China alliance remains the top priority.”

The difference in positions is also evident in reports from state-run media. China’s Xinhua News Agency reported that Premier Pak strongly supported China’s efforts to defend its core interests, such as the Taiwan issue. In contrast, North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency excluded that statement when reporting on the same event.

The North Korea-China Friendship Treaty, signed on July 11, 1961, includes a clause on automatic military intervention, whereby if either side is subjected to an external armed invasion, the other side will provide military assistance.

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