Can China Control North Korea?

Can China Control North Korea?

From Pekingology by Center for Strategic and International Studies

May 28, 2026 · 38 min

About this episode

The episode explores China's complex relationship with North Korea and the implications for U.S. strategy in Asia.

In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Adam Farrar, who previously served as Special Advisor to the Vice President for the Indo-Pacific, Space, and Intelligence as well as Director for the Korean Peninsula and Mongolia at the White House National Security Council. Adam is currently a Senior Geoeconomics Analyst at Bloomberg and Non-Resident Senior Associate with the CSIS Korea Chair. As Xi Jinping prepares for a rare trip to Pyongyang, Henrietta and Adam unpack China’s complex relationship with North Korea. They discuss what the Trump-Xi summit revealed about Beijing’s position on denuclearization, how much leverage China actually has over Pyongyang, and why Kim Jong Un keeps creating problems for Xi. The conversation also explores how Beijing balances its desire for stability on the Korean Peninsula with Moscow's growing influence there, and what all of this means for U.S. strategy in Asia.

People in this episode

Host: Henrietta Levin

Guest: Adam Farrar

Topics covered

  • China-North Korea relations
  • denuclearization
  • geoeconomics
  • U.S. strategy in Asia
  • regional stability
  • Moscow's influence

Keywords

  • China
  • North Korea
  • denuclearization
  • geoeconomics
  • Korean Peninsula
  • Xi Jinping
  • Kim Jong Un
  • Trump-Xi summit

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CSIS, Bloomberg, White House National Security Council

Places: North Korea, China, Pyongyang, Korean Peninsula, Moscow

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