Kim Jong Un hosts Xi Jinping from a position of rare strength

SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong Un offered China’s president a grand welcome Monday. But the North Korean leader is playing host from a position of rare strength, and his country has come a long way since Xi Jinping’s last visit seven years ago.

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Kim’s backing of Russia’s war with Ukraine has paid dividends, his weapons program has cemented North Korea’s status as a de facto nuclear state, and an economy that buckled under the pressure of pandemic isolation and sanctions has since rebounded.

Kim was joined by his wife, Ri Sol Ju, as Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, stepped off their plane in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Their motorcade then weaved through streets lined with Chinese and North Korean flags to Pyongyang’s main square, where Kim threw a grand welcome ceremony — a 21-gun salute, a military band, and children waving flags and balloons, according to official videos released by Xinhua.

Beyond the pomp and pageantry being lavished on Xi, the North Korean leader is displaying a confidence that his nuclear-armed regime has rarely been able to show in dealing with China — Pyongyang’s longtime economic lifeline and main diplomatic backer.

“The key is that Kim Jong Un can receive Xi Jinping from a position of strength. Otherwise, the North Koreans wouldn’t want China visiting when they’re feeling weak,” John Delury, a visiting research fellow at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, told NBC News.

The trip coincides with the 65th anniversary of the mutual defense treaty the two countries signed in 1961 — the only such treaty Beijing has ever agreed to — and builds upon their last meeting in September when Kim visited Beijing.

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China and North Korea’s friendship is “unbreakable,” Xi said Monday. At a summit in Pyongyang, Xi expressed China’s willingness to expand cooperation in a range of areas including trade, agriculture, construction and technology, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report.

Kim said Xi’s visit “clearly demonstrates how unbreakable” the two countries’ relationship is, CCTV said. For its part, North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun called the visit a demonstration of the “invincibility” of their relationship.

The visit comes after Kim displayed his newfound status by hosting top officials from Russia, Belarus, Singapore and Vietnam. But he’s not the only one who might be feeling good about his position.

Xi had an even more stellar guest list in May, including landmark visits by President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as he seeks to project China as a stable global power amid the turmoil stoked by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

“You have to fit into the bigger pattern, which is ultimately a more Sino-centric world order, or at least Beijing being one of the major centers of world order,” Delury said.

The projection of stability may also explain why Xi has headed to Pyongyang, whose accelerating nuclear program and growing closeness with Moscow have irked Beijing.

Kim is estimated to have sent as many as 14,000 troops to fight alongside the Russian military and, in exchange, has received not only valuable battlefield experience, but also help with his economy and military technology.

“As North Korea builds closer ties with Russia, China seeks to use Xi’s trip to reassert its influence over Pyongyang,” said William Yang, senior north east analyst at the International Crisis Group.

Kim has overseen an economy that has recovered from the depths of pandemic-era isolation and crippling international sanctions, buoyed by a rebound in tourism that comes mostly from China and Russia. That includes the resumption of flights and trains with China earlier this year.

Kim has moved quickly to capitalize, pouring investment into modernizing his capital and inaugurating one tourist resort after another.

But Xi can still wield unique economic assistance and diplomatic support in Kim’s pursuit of international legitimacy and recognition as a nuclear state. Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to restart nuclear talks with North Korea, but Kim has shown little sign of compromise.

He visited a munitions producing facility a day before Xi’s arrival and a nuclear material facility a week earlier , sending “the message loud and clear that the nuclear deterrent isn’t going anywhere,” Delury said.

It’s unlikely Xi will be pressing Kim to downsize his nuclear arsenal, Delury said, given China would not risk pushing Kim even closer to Putin.

Stella Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea and Mithil Aggarwal reported from Hong Kong.