Why Xi Jinping is going to North Korea to court Kim Jong Un

The last time China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, travelled to North Korea, that country’s dictator, Kim Jong Un, was reeling from sanctions and failed nuclear talks with the United States.

Now, nearly seven years later, as Xi returns to North Korea on June 8, he will meet with a leader who is newly emboldened by an alliance with Russia that has helped his economy break out of isolation.