Not many people get a bear-hug from Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader, but Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, joined that club in October. This symbolic embrace signals a culmination of Chinese efforts to restore its relationship with North Korea following what Pyongyang calls “China's betrayal” in 1992 when Beijing established diplomatic relations with Seoul. Mr Wen's visit to Pyongyang to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Sino-North Korean relations underscores the importance, as well as the complexity of this strategic “friendship”. In contrast to the flurry of Chinese diplomatic activity, US ambassador Stephen Bosworth's visit yesterday to Pyongyang marks the first official contact between Barack Obama's administration and the North Korean regime.
得到北韓領導人金正日(Kim Jong-il)熱烈擁抱的人不是很多，但今年10月，中國國務院總理溫家寶加入了這一行列。這一具有象徵意義的擁抱，標誌着中國修復北韓關係的成果。1992年，當中國與南韓建立外交關係時，北韓稱之爲「中國的背叛」，兩國關係出現裂痕。溫家寶訪問平壤，慶祝中朝建交60週年，突顯出這種戰略「友誼」關係的重要性和複雜性。與中國的一系列外交活動不同，美國特使斯蒂芬•博斯沃思(Stephen Bosworth) 12月8日對北韓的訪問，標誌着巴拉克•歐巴馬(Barack Obama)政府與北韓政權的第一次正式接觸。