Xi Jinping set to meet Kim Jong-un in North Korea, as China seeks to revitalise relationship
soldiers to [fight for Russia in the Ukraine war](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/28/north-korea-troops-fighting-for-russia-ukraine-confirmed-kim-jong-un), and in 2024 Moscow and Pyongyang signed a [mutual defence pact](https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/19/russia-and-north-korea-sign-mutual-defence-pact).
“Within North Korean propaganda, there are really over