Tag: Kim Jong-un

South Korean President Calls for Easing Sanctions on the North

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Breaking with decades of policy on North Korea, the president of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung, is now urging the United States to ease sanctions on Pyongyang in exchange for an agreement that it freeze its weapons programs. “I believe there is significant value in a trade-off between sanctions — which are not particularly effective anyway — and a stop to the development of additional nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile technology,” Mr. Lee said in an interview with The New York Times on Friday. However unpalatable such a bargain…

Trump Courts North Korea’s Leader, but Might Need China to Reignite the Flame

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The overtures from President Trump to one of his favorite dictators came hot and heavy over the summer. In June, Mr. Trump posted a photo of himself strolling through the tropical grounds of a luxury hotel with Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, during their historic summit in Singapore eight years ago. Weeks later, he wrote online that the two had a “very good relationship.” In that post, Mr. Trump announced that the American military would dial back exercises with South Korea, shocking the close U.S. ally and handing…

Xi Jinping Makes Rare Trip to North Korea to Court Kim Jong-Un

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new video loaded: Xi Jinping Makes Rare Trip to North Korea to Court Kim Jong-Un <img src="https://www.chinastrategy.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/xi-jinping-makes-rare-trip-to-north-korea-to-court-kim-jong-un.jpg" data-testid="betamax-poster" sizes="(width < 1024px) 100vw, (width North Korean and Chinese state media footage showed China’s leader, Xi Jinping, arriving in Pyongyang, North Korea, for a summit with his counterpart, Kim Jong-un. The visit aimed to strengthen ties between the two nations. By Jiwoong Hong June 9, 2026 NYT

Kim Jong-un’s Triumph

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President Xi Jinping of China doesn’t make that many trips abroad. He also isn’t used to going to North Korea to see Kim Jong-un. Most of the time, Kim goes to Xi. So it says something that Xi arrived in Pyongyang on Monday and called for a stronger relationship between the two countries. Xi is visiting at a time when Kim, by most accounts, is feeling pretty smug. His decision to develop nuclear weapons seems to have paid off — just look at Iran. So has his choice to invest…

A ‘Miraculous Transformation’: How Kim Jong-un Fortified North Korea

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During the pandemic, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who had long billed himself as invincible, made a stunning, teary-eyed apology on national television. “I am really sorry,” he said, as the coronavirus, coupled with food shortages and international sanctions, was ravaging his country. “My efforts and sincerity have not been sufficient enough to rid our people of the difficulties in their life.” But while ordinary North Koreans were suffering, Mr. Kim, 42, seized the crisis as a unique opportunity. Now, he is brimming with confidence. He is recognized at…

Xi Jinping set to meet Kim Jong-un in North Korea, as China seeks to revitalise relationship

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Xi Jinping visits North Korea on Monday for a two-day trip, his first in nearly seven years, as China’s president looks to revitalise ties with his junior ally. Xi is expected to meet North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, in Pyongyang. North Korea is China’s only formal treaty ally but in recent years their relationship has been strained by a virtual freeze in trade during the Covid-19 pandemic and Pyongyang’s increasingly close relationship with Russia. Xi’s trip comes ahead of the 65th anniversary of the signing of the friendship and mutual…

What To Know as China’s Xi Jinping Heads to North Korea

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The last time China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, traveled to North Korea, that country’s dictator, Kim Jong-un, was reeling from sanctions and failed nuclear talks with the United States. Now, nearly seven years later, as Mr. Xi returns to North Korea on Monday, he will meet with a leader who is newly emboldened by an alliance with Russia that has helped his economy break out of isolation. Mr. Xi is expected to use the two-day summit with Mr. Kim to project a united front between allies against the West. But…

The Guardian view on North Korea and the Kims: whoever’s at the helm, the regime serves only itself | Editorial

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North Korea is unique in turning a putatively communist state into a dynastic system now in its third generation. So while the proposition that Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter will inherit power is sparking debate, unexpected political transitions are not entirely new. On Monday, South Korea’s intelligence agency said that it had “credible” information that Kim Ju-ae is positioned as her father’s successor. Its briefing to legislators in Seoul followed appearances alongside her father highlighting her military credentials – including driving a tank – and months of rhetorical inflation, with state…

Trump says he would be open to meeting Kim Jong-un as he embarks on whirlwind Asia tour

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Donald Trump has embarked on a tour of Asia where he is expected to take part in high-stakes trade talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping – telling reporters that he was also open to a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trump, who left Washington on Friday night, is set for a five-day trip to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first to the region since taking office in January. Trump is set to meet Xi on the last day of his trip to seal a deal to end…