Lips and Teeth? China, North Korea, and the Korean Peninsula | The Impossible State

China-North Korea relations are undergoing a significant reset, driven by Beijing’s desire to hedge against unpredictable U.S. policy, counter regional alliances, and manage an increasingly volatile Pyongyang. North Korea currently occupies the "driver's seat," effectively leveraging its deepening military and economic ties with Russia to play Moscow and Beijing against one another. While China has increased high-level diplomatic exchanges, it faces limited influence over North Korea’s irreversible nuclear program, which has effectively moved beyond the reach of traditional denuclearization efforts. This geopolitical realignment, marked by North Korea’s rejection of unification and its "two hostile states" theory, forces both China and Russia to navigate a partner that prioritizes its own sovereignty and nuclear status over patron-state expectations. Consequently, the prospect of coordinated international pressure on North Korea remains minimal as regional powers struggle to reconcile their competing security interests.