This is the first in a two part-series on the causes and impact of a recent surge in Chinese tourism to North Korea. You can read part two here.

After what devolved into a rapidly worsening relationship in 2017, the five summits conducted by Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un since 2018 have improved China-North Korea relations to unprecedented contemporary levels.

Resulting in increasing high-level political exchanges, progress on major bilateral infrastructure projects and major unexplained spikes in China-DPRK trade data, relations are better than they’ve ever been, at least under Kim Jong Un’s leadership.

It’s also no