Few countries have direct access to the Hermit Kingdom of North Korea in the way China does, but Russia is one of them. As Russia–DPRK collaboration reaches new heights, Beijing has grown increasingly uneasy. In response, Chinese President Xi Jinping has prioritized North Korea as his first foreign destination for 2026. How does China really view North Korea? How close is the China–Russia–DPRK alignment? And what, if anything, truly binds these three powers together?