North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, called on all provinces to “make preparations for people to enjoy a bountiful Lunar New Year” and urged organizations to schedule adequate rest for their workers. Meanwhile, the country has been strengthening diplomatic relations with China ahead of the festivity. Since the last ‘North Korea-China Friendship Lunar New Year’ event held in January 2020 shortly before the pandemic, the North had not celebrated the festivity with its closest neighboring ally for four years. 

North Korea’s profile on the global stage has increased due to its weapons proliferation in both the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Despite its rising profile, North Korea’s most important relationship is still with China. These festivities underscore this fact.

According to the Korean Central News Agency, “A Chinese cultural delegation from Liaoning Province, led by Comrade Lui Hui An, publicity manager, the executive committee member of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, arrived in Pyongyang on the 29th to participate in the 2024 North Korea-China Friendship Lunar New Year event.” The delegation reportedly laid flowers at the statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang, which is a common ritual for North Korean devotees to pay respect to their late leaders.

REVIVAL IN FRIENDSHIP

Lunar New Year, also referred to as the Spring Festival or Chunjie, is China’s grandest and most widely celebrated festival. Coincidentally, this year’s cultural event is also significant in marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and China on October 6 this year. The Korean Central News Agency revealed that a key element on the agenda for the meeting is to make this year the “year of DPRK-China friendship.”

In addition to artistic performances and lavish banquets mirroring previous visits that are designed to foster and consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries, discussions to strengthen cooperation between North Korea’s North Pyongan province and China’s Liaoning province form a major part of the exchange this year, as Liu Hui-yan, the director of the Propaganda Department of the Liaoning Provincial Committee highlighted, “Exchanges and cooperation in the cultural field are an important part of the relations between China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), and a crucial element of the ‘Year of China-North Korea Friendship.’ Cultural exchanges between the two countries will gather public sentiment and promote development, providing new momentum for exchanges and cooperation in various fields.”

‘UNBREAKABLE’ TIES

Kim Jong-un vowed to “fully display” an “unbreakable” alliance with China in 2024 during an exchange of New Year’s greetings with China’s President, Xi Jin-ping.  In turn, Xi reciprocated in a statement claiming that Beijing is “ready to work” with Pyongyang to “ensure that bilateral ties move forward with the times for greater development so as to better benefit the two peoples, and continuously make new contributions to safeguarding regional peace and stability.”

According to North Korean state media, a delegate from the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports departed from Pyongyang in late January 2024 for a visit to China, though no further details were disclosed. The Chinese embassy further reported that they would prepare for major activities with the North this year. Accordingly, analysts suggest that this Lunar New Year visit represents Pyongyang and Beijing’s eagerness to elevate their relations to a new level, as it marks their third publicly disclosed, high-profile exchange in less than a week.

COOPERATION ON NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES

Perhaps the most consequential result of this relationship is the fact that China and North Korea continue to cooperate with one another on the policing and repatriation of refugees within China’s borders. The fact that China is willing to go against the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, of which it is a signatory to, speaks volumes to the importance of China’s relationship with North Korea. 

China continues to cooperate with North Korea in these arrests and deportations as they have resumed last year, despite the condemnation of these acts.