After years of pandemic isolation and sparse political contact, North Korea and China are suddenly back in the business of summitry.

A summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping last September has sparked a renewed wave of diplomacy, culminating in a reciprocal summit and a succession of party, government and military visits.

Amid North Korea’s growing ties with Russia and mounting regional tensions, Beijing seemingly looks to reassert its influence over Pyongyang through the flurry of visits.

But while the optics evoke the heyday of bilateral ties, analysts remain divided over what they actually