China & North Korea Hail 65 Years of Ironclad Alliance
In this Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they pose for a photo before talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged congratulatory messages marking the 65th anniversary of the landmark Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between their nations.Xi Jinping emphasized the “great importance” of the traditional friendship between China and North Korea, and “firm support for the socialist cause” in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.Kim Jong Un underscored that the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between North Korea and China laid a “solid legal foundation for the perpetual development of the fighting friendship and cooperative relations.”Signed on July 11, 1961, by North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung and then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, the pact commits both sides to immediate military assistance in the event of an armed attack on either country.China remains North Korea’s dominant trading partner, accounting for over 90% of the DPRK’s external commerce.High-level diplomacy has intensified over recent years, with Kim Jong Un visiting China in September 2025 for China’s Victory Day events—his first trip there since 2019.Xi made a reciprocal visit to North Korea in June 2026.The anniversary arrives as tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high. During their summit in June, China and North Korea reaffirmed their commitment to jointly oppose the aggressive policies of the US and its allies like Japan and South Korea.
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