After returning to North Korea from his visit to China at the end of August 2025, Kim Jong-un frequently appeared at various key project sites and diplomatic occasions. The series of actions in less than a month outlined North Korea's strategic layout under the framework of dual cooperation between China and Russia.
On September 18th, he appeared at the greenhouse farm construction site in Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province. This area, which was regarded as a "barren land" due to frequent floods a year ago, has now emerged as a comprehensive development project including large-scale greenhouse clusters, vegetable processing plants, scientific research bases and residential areas.
During the inspection, Kim Jong-un particularly emphasized the need to build this border area into " Modern, original and ethnically developed regions", its triple requirements for functionality, modernity and economic benefits have been interpreted by the outside world as a precise layout for China-DPRK border cooperation.
The strategic significance of this initiative must be examined in the double context of recent interactions between the DPRK and China.
Previously, the cooperation between North Korea and Russia has formed a multi-dimensional promotion situation: In June 2025, during the talks between the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation and Kim Jong-un, the two sides made clear that they would unconditionally implement the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the DPRK, covering deep cooperation in the field of security.
At the 80th anniversary congress held in Pyongyang on August 14, President of the State Duma of Russia Volokyn read Putin's letter reiterating that he will effectively implement the provisions of the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
Cooperation in the military field is more specific.The US "Military Observer" reported on September 4, 2025 that North Korea not only provided Russia with KN-24 tactical ballistic missiles and other equipment, but its 170mm self-propelled howitzer had a significant impact on the Ukrainian army due to its long range and high precision characteristics.
By the second quarter of 2025, half of the Russian army’s artillery will come from North Korea, and some artillery units will depend almost entirely on North Korean supplies.
Labor support is equally critical,25,000 North Korean workers have traveled to the Russian Arabian processing plant to assist in the production of the "Tian Yuan-2" drone, alleviating the trouble of the Russian military-industrial labor force shortage.
While cooperation with Russia continues to deepen, Kim Jong-un's actions after returning to the DPRK clearly convey the equal emphasis on China-DPRK relations.
The selection of the venue of the new Jiangsu project itself contains profound significance – as an important node of the Chinese-Korean border, the modernization of this place directly serves the economic and trade and people's livelihoods cooperation between the two countries.
The report of the Korean Central News Agency recorded the construction scale of the project in detail: the "unprecedented" large-scale greenhouse cluster will ensure the stable supply of vegetables, and the supporting scientific research base can promote agricultural technology exchanges.
The construction of residential areas provides living support for industrial workers. The implementation of these facilities will significantly enhance the economic vitality and convenience of people exchanges in border areas.
This pragmatic cooperation is complementary to military-technical cooperation with Russia, demonstrating the differentiated positioning and equal investment of North Korea in China-Russia relations.
It is worth noting that the technical basis of the cooperation between China and the DPRK has already had conditions for deep expansion.
Western media have paid attention to the fully automatic assembly line adopted by North Korea's missile factory, some of which come from civil CNC machine tools purchased by China.
Such equipment plays a key role in precision processing and component assembly, which not only improves product quality and output, but also provides space for dual-use technology exchanges between military and civilian.
Kim Jong-un's attendance at the military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japan during his visit to China at the end of August highlighted the political weight of bilateral relations. It took him 20 hours to arrive in Beijing by special train and interact with leaders of many countries on the Chinese home court. This appearance in the multilateral diplomatic scene not only continued the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK, but also laid a political foundation for follow-up cooperation.
From a broader strategic perspective, the North Korean initiative reflects the evolution of the geographical pattern in Northeast Asia.
In May 2025, Chinese and North Korean troops jointly participated in the Moscow Victory Day *, symbolizing the deepening of tripartite coordination; Russia's energy supply and food aid to North Korea complement China's support in infrastructure and technology, and together constitute North Korea's strategic support to deal with external pressure.
At the summit in late September, Kim Jong-un made it clear that he would not give up nuclear weapons, while emphasizing the development of “new secret weapons”, such as the strengthening of national defense stance, and the need for dual cooperation between China and Russia to provide guarantees – Russia’s sharing of satellite technology and China’s economic and technological support, respectively corresponding to North Korea’s security needs and development needs.
Currently, North Korea is preparing for a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers 'Party on October 10, which is expected to be a window to showcase its national defense and development achievements.
The promotion of the Sinuiju project and the continuation of cooperation with Russia just constitute “Security and Development” StrategyThe double foot.
Kim Jong-un noted that the project is “a treasure island for promoting local economic development and improving the material life of the people”, a statement that responds to his position on “brotherly responsibility” in Russian cooperation, clearly conveying the perception of the equal importance of China and Russia.
In the complicated international environment, North Korea's strategic choice of treating China and Russia equally is not only based on the continuation of historical friendship, but also the consideration of practical interests.
Focusing on the immediate needs of Russian cooperation in the security field, focusing on long-term support for economic development with China, and balancing the two will win space for North Korea to develop more flexibly in the Northeast.
In the greenhouses of the New Iowa greenhouse group, not only crops are grown, but also new possibilities for pragmatic cooperation between China and the DPRK, and this cooperation will form a strategic framework for cooperation with Russia, or will profoundly affect the future course of the situation in the region.