NCNK has released a new Issue Brief on China-North Korea relations, covering the history and contemporary status of this bilateral relationship.

The description of a relationship “as close as lips and teeth” has often masked a reality of uncomfortable dependency and mutual distrust between North Korea and China. North Korea’s leaders have been deeply wary of becoming subservient to China or other great powers, and although Beijing has held considerable economic and political leverage over Pyongyang, it has rarely translated into a commensurate level of influence. This Issue Brief examines the complex relationship between these two countries, from their wartime ties to the recent summitry between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping.

The Issue Brief is available here.