The world's eyes are fixed on Pyongyang as Xi Jinping makes his first state visit to North Korea in fourteen years. But let us not be naive: this is no mere diplomatic courtesy. This is a masterclass in realpolitik, a stark reminder that the age of empires is far from over.
For the analysts in Whitehall wringing their hands over 'strategic leverage', I say this: you are only now catching up to what Beijing has known for decades. The hermit kingdom, with its nuclear ambitions and volatile leader, is not a liability for China. It is an asset.
A pawn. A lever against the United States and its allies. As Xi parades through Pyongyang's streets, he is sending a message not to Kim Jong-un but to Washington: the Korean peninsula is my chessboard.
And your pieces are exactly where I want them. This is not 1984. This is 2019, and the ghosts of the Cold War are dancing a new tango.
One must ask: when will the West realise that its moral posturing is no match for the cold, hard calculus of power? Perhaps never. That is why we are witnessing the slow, inexorable decline of the liberal order.
The Fall of Rome was not a single event. It was a thousand small surrenders. Today, Xi's visit to Pyongyang is one such surrender.
Mark my words.
