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.
得到朝鮮領導人金正日(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。這一具有象征意義的擁抱，標志著中國修復朝鮮關系的成果。1992年，當中國與韓國建立外交關系時，朝鮮稱之為“中國的背叛”，兩國關系出現裂痕。溫家寶訪問平壤，慶祝中朝建交60周年，突顯出這種戰略“友誼”關系的重要性和復雜性。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日對朝鮮的訪問，標志著巴拉克?奧巴馬(Barack Obama)政府與朝鮮政權的第一次正式接觸。