Chinese state media confirmed the arrival of Premier Li Qiang, the country’s second most powerful politician, to North Korea on Thursday, in preparation for a parade on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the country’s communist “Workers’ Party of Korea” (WPK).
Li is one of several high-ranking officials, including leaders from Vietnam and Laos as well as delegations from communist Nicaragua and Venezuela, expected to attend the parade alongside dictator Kim Jong-un. Russia, which has risen to become Pyongyang’s most important geopolitical partner, sent a delegation led by one of Vladimir Putin’s most trusted and belligerent henchmen, Dmitry Medvedev, South Korean media reported.
Li’s arrival in the country represents what experts called an “upgrade” in the rank of delegations to attend similar events in North Korea, indicating that China is seeking to impress upon Kim that it still considers North Korea a high priority in its foreign policy. China had for decades been North Korea’s top geopolitical ally, given China’s status as a warring party in the active hostilities of the Korean War, but Kim Jong-un’s tenure has been marked by a growing distance between Beijing and Pyongyang as well as Russian influence increasingly substituting for Chinese in the country.
According to Xinhua, Li Qiang — who often stands in for genocidal dictator Xi Jinping during international events — is taking part in a “goodwill visit” that includes but is not limited to the WPK celebration parade. Li used the opportunity of his arrival to herald China and North Korea as “socialist neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, enjoy a profound traditional friendship.”
Li claimed, contrary to the erosion of Chinese influence documented in North Korea since the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, that the bilateral relationship was “brimming with new dynamism and vitality,” citing as evidence the fact that Kim Jong-un personally attended a parade in Beijing in September marking the anniversary of the end of World War II (the Chinese government gives the United States no meaningful credit for its protagonist role in ending that war).
Li also vowed on behalf of his Communist Party that “China stands ready to work with the DPRK [North Korea] to follow through on the important consensus reached by the two top leaders, strengthen strategic communication, maintain close exchanges, and push for friendly cooperation.”
South Korean experts speaking to the Korean JoongAng Daily noted that China sent a much less impressive delegation to the parade marking the 70th anniversary of the WPK ten years ago.
“Sending Premier Li, the No. 2 in China’s leadership, shows goodwill in line with the restoration of North Korea-China ties,” Yang Moo-jin, a South Korean professor, told the newspaper. “Placing Kim Jong-un between the second-ranking leaders of China and Russia during the parade will be a visual demonstration of North Korea’s strategic role and leadership on the Korean Peninsula.”
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) has not, however, at press time highlighted Li’s visit as a leading narrative of the parade. KCNA acknowledged that Li confirmed his visit on Tuesday. KCNA also recognized the arrival of the Shanghai Art Troupe of China to the country to celebrate the anniversary.
In contrast, however, North Korean state propaganda outlets carried a joint statement issued by the WPK and United Russia, Putin’s party, enthusiastically supporting each other’s political interests.
“The mounting political and military tension on the Eurasian continent and the rest of the world is, above all, directly linked to the aggressive politics of the West to continue maintaining at any cost the dangerous and non-constructive line to realize overall hegemonism,” the statement read in part. It also contained a line of gratitude from United Russia to North Korea for sending troops into Kursk, Russia, to help the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian government signed a mutual defense agreement with North Korea in June 2024, marked by a personal visit from Putin to Pyongyang — the first in 20 years. Putin has since endeavored to prioritize Kim as a valued partner, notably calling to consult him in anticipation of his meeting with American President Donald Trump in Alaska. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Pyongyang in July, receiving a vow of “unconditional” support from Kim.
Kim Jong-un is expected to use the parade on Friday to show that North Korea is not a global pariah, welcoming visits from throughout the communist, socialist, and otherwise authoritarian world. Among those countries KCNA has reported will be sending delegations are the communist regime in Nicaragua, the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), and the Islamist terror state of Iran. The president of Laos is also expected to attend and honor the ghosts of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the current dictator’s father and grandfather, on Thursday.
Kim Jong-un delivered a speech passionately defending the bloodthirsty communism of his forefathers while visiting a museum honoring the WPK on Thursday. According to KCNA’s summary of the speech, Kim celebrated “the dynamic leadership and mode of struggle of the WPK which formed the purest, the most powerful ideological lineage and the revolutionary tradition.” Kim urged Koreans to “lead to a new victory the building of socialism and communism.”
“When he finished his speech, all the participants paid the greatest tribute to him, raising the thunderous cheers of ‘hurrah!’” KCNA claimed, as it customarily does in all articles about Kim Jong-un speeches.
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