Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state, said China is being kept in the dark about the friendship between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin

Over the past decade, China has grown increasingly concerned about its waning leverage over North Korea and inability to restrain Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. These worries have only intensified with North Korea’s dramatic tightening of ties with Russia this year.

NATO and the European Union are ramping up pressure on China. They want Beijing to persuade North Korea to stop sending troops to Russia in support of its war on Ukraine.