hankyoreh

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during their summit in Tianjin, China, on Aug. 31, 2025. (UPI/Yonhap)

No sooner had South Korean President Lee Jae Myung boosted trilateral cooperation during back-to-back trips to Japan and the US than North Korean leader Kim Jong-un decided to pay his first visit to China in six years in a bid to bolster relations with Beijing. It seems undeniable that Kim’s visit to Beijing is aimed at reinforcing solidarity with China and Russia in opposition to Korea-US-Japan cooperation.
 
If South Korea is to defend its national interests and move peninsular affairs in the desired direction amid geopolitical volatility, not only our relationship with the US but also strategic communication with China and Russia are of vital importance. As the classic formula of depending on the US for security and China for economic growth grows unwieldy, we need to diligently broaden our diplomatic options while stabilizing relations with China.
 
Kim Jong-un plans to stand alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at an event celebrating the 80th anniversary of China’s “Victory Day” on Wednesday.
 
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Saturday that during the military parade, President Putin will sit on the right side of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the North Korean leader will be on his left. 
 
That makes clear that Xi is determined to strengthen trilateral cooperation with Russia and North Korea to counter US President Donald Trump’s supercilious “America First” agenda. But it has not been confirmed whether Xi, Putin and Kim will hold a trilateral summit.
 
Taking a broader look, we can get a better understanding of the strategic significance of Kim’s visit to China.
 
In a speech at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Tianjin on Monday, Xi said the Chinese are “committed to fairness and justice” and “will support the multilateral trade system organized around the World Trade Organization.”
 
The previous day, Xi emphasized that China and India should “have the dragon and the elephant dance together” in a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a key partner in the US’ strategy of encirclement of China.
 
These moves indicate that China is positioning itself as the guardian of the very free trade system that Trump seeks to destroy in an attempt to unify the Global South in a massive front against the US. For China, Kim’s first visit in six years is an added dividend.
 
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun noted on Sunday that Kim’s visit to China would be “certainly worrisome if it enables North Korea to increase cooperation with China and Russia.”
 
The stronger North Korea’s strategic position becomes, the more remote our dreams of complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
 
That’s an outcome we cannot prevent as long as we hobble our foreign policy by relying entirely on the US and Japan. The time has come for true diplomacy.

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