Dear Focus Reader,

On Thursday, China dispatched its highest-level delegation to North Korea in five years, signaling the start of a "friendship year" commemorating 75 years of diplomatic ties. Led by Zhao Leji, China's third-highest-ranking official, the delegation expressed intentions to bolster "strategic coordination" and "deepen high-level exchanges" throughout the year.

While Pyongyang is seemingly strengthening relations with both Beijing and Moscow, the visit comes amid growing coordination between its neighbors and the United States, who have growing concerns over North Korea's escalating rhetoric and continued weapons testing.

Simultaneously, China and North Korea are increasingly wary of what they perceive as a hostile regional environment, particularly with heightened security coordination between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. Just this week, President Joe Biden, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. convened in Washington for a trilateral meeting to discuss coordinated responses to China in the South China Sea.

Prior to the meeting, Biden and Kishida also unveiled enhanced bilateral defense and security cooperation aimed at deterring potential conflicts in the Indo-Pacific. These collaborative efforts include the development of a new air missile network system with Australia, upcoming joint military exercises in the Indo-Pacific involving U.K. forces, and plans for advancing U.S.-Japan co-production of advanced air defense missiles.

However, Biden emphasized that the expansion of these defense ties isn't aimed at any particular nation or intended to threaten the region.

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