2018 saw rapid changes in the Korean peninsula, and recent Chinese media tends to view these developments as markedly positive. However, local analysts have also voiced concern that this optimistic trend may not continue in the new year, though Kim Jong Un’s recent visit to Beijing led to more positive outlooks.

North Korea’s purported progress on denuclearization, as well as conciliatory gestures to South Korea, have provided evidence that the situation on the peninsula is easing. Chinese media reports have also emphasized the increase in economic development in the DPRK and express hopes that North Korea