China's President Xi Jinping visited North Korea as a state guest on the 8th and 9th. Regarding President Xi's first overseas visit this year being North Korea, South Korean newspapers introduced an expert's view stating, "North Korea was chosen as a strategic partner for socialist ideological diplomacy." They reported, "China's 'Red Diplomacy' solidarity connecting Vietnam, Laos, and North Korea is being strengthened." According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency and others, at the China-DPRK summit on the 8th, President Xi stated, "Our firm support for the socialist cause of Korea led by Comrade General Secretary Kim Jong-un remains unchanged," declaring a guarantee of the regime. At the welcome dinner following the talks, he also emphasized socialist solidarity, saying, "We must jointly open up a beautiful future for the socialist cause of both countries and promote the unceasing progress of human society." In an article contributed to the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, published the day before, President Xi referred to Chairman Kim by the title "General Secretary of the Workers' Party" instead of "Chairman of the State Affairs Commission," which was used during his visit seven years ago. Regarding this response, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo noted, "Unlike 2019, this can be interpreted as a strengthening of 'Red Diplomacy' that emphasizes ideological homogeneity." It continued, "Red Diplomacy is an important concept in the history of the Communist Party of China. Red Diplomacy, which began in Yan'an, known as the 'sacred place of revolution' in the 1930s, is recognized by representative examples such as the non-aligned diplomacy pursued by then-Premier Zhou Enlai at the Geneva Conference in the 1950s and the multilateral diplomacy pursued for UN membership in the 1970s." It further mentioned, "Since the beginning of this year, China seems to be fully reviving Red Diplomacy." "On March 16, Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Vietnam with Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong and Defense Minister Dong Jun to hold the '3+3 Strategic Dialogue' for the first time. At that time, Public Security Minister Wang proposed to 'prevent color revolutions,' and Defense Minister Dong emphasized to 'defend the socialist red mountains and rivers.' China and Vietnam have invited over 1,000 Vietnamese students under the name of 'Red Study Tour' and are supporting their exploration of China's revolutionary historical sites," it continued. Three days before his visit to North Korea, on the 5th, President Xi frankly stated in a meeting with Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, that "both countries should jointly safeguard the socialist system and the ruling position of the Communist Party." It is difficult to find a precedent in Chinese diplomacy for officially making the defense of the socialist system a diplomatic agenda. Professor Kang Jun-young of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies commented, "China, aiming for the completion of Chinese-style modernization in 2049, chose North Korea as a strategic partner for socialist ideological diplomacy, positioning the Beijing Model as the antithesis to the Washington Consensus." He asserted, "China's tacit approval of North Korea's nuclear armament is, in effect, an action equivalent to altering the status quo in Northeast Asia's security order," and appealed, "South Korea must lead denuclearization diplomacy on the international stage." (Editor/Hinata)