On the diplomatic stage, clothing is not mere ‘fashion’. At times, it becomes a nonverbal diplomatic symbol that compresses a message. The photos of the North Korean and Chinese leaders and their spouses released in Pyongyang on the 8th even evoked an uncanny feeling with a decalcomania composition. Was the arrangement of the four, resembling one another as if facing mirrors, a coincidence? Or was it another political message staged by North Korea and China for the world?

Ahead of the summit that day, Kim Jong-un, Chairman of North Korea’s State Affairs Commission, and Xi Jinping, President of China, stood side by side at the center of a red carpet during the official welcome at Kim Il-sung Square. On either side, the Chinese and North Korean flags were placed symmetrically, and behind them stood Peng Liyuan and Ri Sol-ju, each at the same distance. The two women, as if coordinated in advance, wore outfits in white tones. Amid the intense palette formed by red flags and carpet and the green lawn, only the two first ladies’ white stood out distinctly.

China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the day’s schedule proceeded with a 21-gun salute, honor guard inspection, a welcome ceremony at Kim Il-sung Square, and crowds lining the streets. The phrase “the top leaders of the two parties and the two countries” was used repeatedly in the report. The images published likewise recorded the four individuals while also serving to visualize the cohesion of the two systems.

In fact, Xi’s visit to North Korea carries significance beyond a routine friendly trip. China and North Korea have long described their ties as a “friendship forged in blood.” However, as the North KoreaRussia rapprochement has intensified recently, BeijingPyongyang relations have also faced a new test. In that context, the hospitality staged in Pyongyang amounts less to mere diplomatic protocol and more to a political declaration, for domestic and international audiences alike, that the two systems still share a strategic destiny.

The BBC likewise assessed that Xi’s visit to Pyongyang is less about friendly cooperation and more about reaffirming China’s influence over the North. The BBC described North Korea as a neighbor China “cannot control but can never afford to lose,” adding that Beijing is concerned its sway over Pyongyang may be weakening as North Korea and Russia draw rapidly closer. In particular, while China does not want regional instability arising from North Korea’s nuclear development, it is also wary of Pyongyang tilting further toward Russia. In the end, the visit is widely seen as both a reaffirmation of traditional friendship and a signal, domestically and abroad, that North Korea remains within China’s strategic orbit.

What especially drew attention, more than the two leaders, were the first ladies standing behind them. Ri and Peng appeared to have selected white-toned outfits as if coordinated in advance. Peng, once dubbed the “face of China’s soft power,” frequently accompanied Xi on major overseas trips. After the COVID-19 pandemic, however, her participation in foreign travel and public activities decreased.

Peng did not accompany Xi on last year’s state visit to South Korea or to the APEC summit in Gyeongju. Her appearance on this trip to Pyongyang therefore suggests considerable symbolic weight attached to ChinaNorth Korea relations. The sight of the two first couples standing side by side worked as a visual symbol of the current state of bilateral ties. The choice of white by both women reads less as a mere convergence of taste than as a political color emphasizing harmony and solidarity.

Peng Liyuan’s fashion diplomacy has long drawn international attention. In March 2013, during Xi’s first overseas trip as president, a state visit to Russia, Peng appeared in a dark navy coat with a restrained handbag. At the time, the BBC said, “For the first time, China has presented to the international community a sophisticated, modern image of a first lady,” while CNN called her “China’s new soft-power icon.” In China, outfits by the Chinese designer Ma Ke that she wore, as well as products from a Guangzhou brand, even sold out.

White-toned attire is a color Peng often employs on the diplomatic stage. When she visited Changdeokgung in 2014 during a trip to South Korea, she wore a Chinese-style long white jacket and dress, accented with a deep green floral brooch and deep green high heels. According to the paper <A Study on Fashion Politics as Seen in the Fashion Styling of First Lady Peng Liyuan> published in 2014 in the Journal of the Korean Society of Design Culture by Jang Mun and Lee Mi-suk, an analysis of 103 of Peng’s outfits found that white was the most frequently used color, followed by black and purple tones. The researchers argued that while actively incorporating traditional Chinese patterns and design on overseas trips, Peng established a friendly and stable national image through restrained colors. In particular, her modern reinterpetations of traditional dress were evaluated as a case of ‘fashion politics’ that showcased both the cultural identity of China and its national brand.

By contrast, Ri’s fashion reflects the “direction of national image” that North Korea seeks. She first drew concentrated international attention in July 2012. Appearing with Kim at an event to watch a Moranbong Band performance, Ri wore a modern-silhouette outfit and handbag rarely seen among North Korea’s female elite at the time. Afterward, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service and numerous media outlets suggested the bag might be a Dior luxury product. Major foreign outlets including the Guardian and the Washington Post highlighted the episode.

Particular focus fell on the intent behind the conspicuous luxury item. Ri’s expensive handbag represented the new image the Kim Jong-un regime sought to project, in contrast to the Kim Jong-il era. Analysts argued that with Ri’s emergence, Pyongyang began trying to present a younger, more modern national image to the international community, moving away from a closed, military-centered image. Researchers at the Brookings Institution in the United States and South Korea’s Korea Institute for National Unification interpreted the expansion of Ri’s public activities as a process of “limited image rebranding” of the North Korean system.

Fashion diplomacy drew attention at the inter-Korean summit held on April 27, 2018, at the Peace House in Panmunjom. While the handshake between President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong-un made headlines worldwide, fashion magazines and foreign media also focused on the first ladies’ attire. Kim Jung-sook chose a light sky-blue jacket, and Ri Sol-ju wore a pastel-toned two-piece with a hint of pale pink. Harper’s Bazaar interpreted this as a “color language that symbolizes reconciliation rather than confrontation.” The Telegraph wrote that “in Korean Peninsula politics long dominated by military uniforms, soft colors are becoming a new political signal.” Some also read the choices as an expression of coexistence between different systems, removing hostility while retaining distinct colors.

In contrast, at this meeting of the Chinese and North Korean first couples, the two first ladies presented a decalcomania look in ‘white’. If, at Panmunjom in 2018, the two Koreas expressed coexistence with different colors, then in Pyongyang in 2026, China and North Korea expressed solidarity with the same color. The New York Times characterized the summit as a stage on which China and North Korea showcased a ‘united front’ toward the West. It is therefore hard to regard the two women’s white outfits as a mere coincidence of taste. Their mirror-like stance may well have been both a signal the two countries send to each other today and an image of solidarity staged for the world.