Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea this week helped to improve Kim Jong-un’s international standing and gave him a “big strategic win”, analysts said. Pyongyang has become increasingly close to Russia in recent years and has sent thousands of troops to support its war against Ukraine, but Xi’s visit reinforced the long-standing economic and cultural ties between China and North Korea. It was the Chinese leader’s first foreign trip of the year and came less than a month after he...

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea this week helped to improve Kim Jong-un’s international standing and gave him a “big strategic win”, analysts said. Pyongyang has become increasingly close to Russia in recent years and has sent thousands of troops to support its war against Ukraine, but Xi’s visit reinforced the long-standing economic and cultural ties between China and North Korea. It was the Chinese leader’s first foreign trip of the year and came less than a month after he...

President Xi Jinping is heading to North Korea on Monday with the aim of proving that China remains the best prospect for reviving his host country’s economy. The visit, Xi’s first in seven years, will focus on reinforcing ties with Pyongyang at a time when the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula appears increasingly out of reach, according to analysts. The carefully timed sequence of diplomatic meetings also reflects Beijing’s growing confidence on the world stage and its ability to engage...