After a visit to Beijing earlier this week by Chang Song Taek, a high-ranking North Korean official seen as a key influence on his nephew and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, China and North Korea announced that they had signed a number of agreements to enhance economic cooperation.
According to the BBC, the two countries signed deals on the development of two special economic zones as well as on electricity supply and agricultural cooperation.
For Daniel Sneider, associate director for research at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, the deals reflect the fact that China is North Korea’s predominant economic partner -- and that the degree of Pyongyang’s dependency on Beijing has been growing.