Beijing and Pyongyang are entering a new phase of sustained rapprochement after a period of bilateral friction and pandemic isolation, underscored by China’s dispatch of its No. 2 official to attend North Korea’s large-scale military parade.

Recent high-level exchanges suggest that allies are recalibrating their relationship for a shifting geopolitical landscape defined by great-power rivalry, Russia’s war in Ukraine and questions about the future of U.S. support for allies in the region.

For China, North Korea’s value lies less in ideological kinship than in strategic utility. Amid intensifying competition with Washington