FILE - In this file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, spectators wave Chinese and North Korean flags as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a mass gymnastic performance at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea Thursday, June 20, 2019. China appears to be keeping its distance as Russia and North Korea move closer to each other with a new defense pact that could tilt the balance of power between the three authoritarian states. (Yan Yan/Xinhua via AP, File)
FILE - People, holding portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin, greet and applaud as a motorcade with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un move past in a street in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. China appears to be keeping its distance as Russia and North Korea move closer to each other with a new defense pact that could tilt the balance of power between the three authoritarian states. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un exchange documents during a signing ceremony of the new partnership in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. Putin and Kim signed a new partnership that includes a vow of mutual aid if either country is attacked, during a Wednesday summit that came as both face escalating standoffs with the West. (Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin look toward each other as they shake hands prior to their talks in Beijing, China, Thursday, May 16, 2024. China appears to be keeping its distance as Russia and North Korea move closer to each other with a new defense pact that could tilt the balance of power between the three authoritarian states. (Sergei Bobylev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - In this June 20, 2019, file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wave from an open top limousine as they travel along a street in Pyongyang, North Korea. China appears to be keeping its distance as Russia and North Korea move closer to each other with a new defense pact that could tilt the balance of power between the three authoritarian states.(Ju Peng/Xinhua via AP, File)
FILE - In this file photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, center right, attend a send-off ceremony at Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, June 21, 2019. China appears to be keeping its distance as Russia and North Korea move closer to each other with a new defense pact that could tilt the balance of power between the three authoritarian states. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)