What Xi Wants in Pyongyang | The Capital Cable #135
As Xi Jinping prepares for his first trip to Pyongyang in nearly seven years, the central question is what Beijing actually wants from Kim Jong-un. The May Trump-Xi summit offered hints about China's position on denuclearization, but Beijing's real leverage over Pyongyang and Xi's patience with a partner who keeps creating problems for him remains far less clear. In this episode of The Capital Cable, host Mark Lippert is joined by Victor Cha, Oriana Skylar Mastro, and Edgard Kagan to unpack it: how much sway Beijing holds over Kim, how China balances its desire for stability on the peninsula against Moscow's growing pull, and what the whole picture means for U.S. strategy in Asia. Reading materials: Strategic Clarity: Reassessing the Value of China to Korea by Victor Cha and Yesun Kim, https://www.csis.org/analysis/strateg... Previewing Xi Jinping’s Visit to North Korea | State of Play by Sydney Seiler, https://www.csis.org/analysis/preview... Other CSIS podcasts State of Play with Dr. Thomas Christensen, Amb. Edgard Kagan, Dr. Victor Cha, moderated by Will Todman: • Is Something Big About to Happen with Nort... Pekingology with Adam Farrar and Henrietta Levin: • Can China Control North Korea? This event is made possible by general support to CSIS. --------------------------------------------- A nonpartisan institution, CSIS is the top national security think tank in the world. Visit https://www.csis.org to find more of our work as we bring bipartisan solutions to the world's greatest challenges. Want to see more videos and virtual events? Subscribe to this channel and turn on notifications: https://cs.is/2dCfTve Follow CSIS on: • Twitter: / csis • Facebook: / csis.org • Instagram: / csis

Is Ukraine Turning the Tide?

Former CIA Analyst Explains Cracks in the Chinese System | Robert Suettinger

What to Expect from the Two Koreas in 2026? | The Capital Cable #126

Something is jamming GPS over Europe. Here's what we found

Assessing the State of the U.S. Space Industrial Base

Why Mao Zedong Saved Kim Il-sung During the Korean War

How I Use Aspirin to Unclog Arteries

'Fight for your existence,' Zelensky tells Putin in scathing open letter | Russia-Ukraine war news

NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang on Securing American Leadership on AI

Empire of Illusion: Frank Dikötter on Why China Isn’t a Superpower | Uncommon Knowledge

Why the Mongols Vanished After Conquering Everything

Vladimir Putin Holds Q&A Session at SPIEF 2026 | PM Modi | Trump | Ukraine | Tariffs | St Petersburg

Is China Building the Next NVIDIA? China's Semiconductor Industrial Policy with Paul Triolo

What the Trillion-Dollar I.P.O. Race Means for the Rest of Us

Update from Ukraine | Ukraine Hit Many Rus Supply Ships, Putin Lives in Parallel World

Assessing the Putin–Xi Summit: A Conversation with Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Evan Medeiros

Four Unusual Signals From the PLA That We Can't Ignore

100 Episodes: What We Got Right (and Wrong)

How America Lost China in WWII

