Three's a crowd: China's efforts to win back North Korea from Russia

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• 00:00

  The Economist.

• 00:09

  In the town of Tumen, on China's border with North Korea,

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  tourists are being treated to a live performance of Korean song and dance.

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  It's the Tumen River Cultural Tourism Festival.

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  There's a big stage with hundreds of seats set up for spectators and lucky draws for the children.

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  The festival slogan reads, "Two countries connected with one city."

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  And nearby, Chinese authorities are trying to expand physical connections too, with a new bridge spanning the border.

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  For the moment, however, there are no signs of North Korea matching those efforts.

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  It's been a tough decade for the Chinese-North Korean relationship.

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  First, under American pressure,

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  Beijing tightened enforcement of UN sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

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  Then, COVID brought bilateral trade to a near standstill.

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  And since 2022, when the invasion of Ukraine began, North Korea has grown ever closer to Russia.

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  But now, China's trying to bring North Korea back into its orbit.

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  I'm Jeremy Page, The Economist's chief China correspondent in Taipei.

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  And I'm Sarah Lu, The Economist's China correspondent in Beijing.

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  Today, we're going to look at why China is trying to mend fences with its most troublesome neighbor,

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  and what it means for the future of the region if it fails.

• 01:43

  This is Drum Tower from The Economist.

• 01:50

  Hi, Jeremy.

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