China's recent rappoachment with North Korea likely played a role [0][1][2].
China has been trying to land a trilateral SK-JP-CN FTA for decades and in order to try and smoothen out negotiation recommitted to denuclearizing North Korea as recently as last year [3]. This is actually a major reason NK has continued to cultivate ties with Russia [4][5][6], as it gave NK strategic autonomy to maintain nuclear capabilities.
By dropping unification, NK is making the CN-SK portion significantly less acrimonious as they are already increasingly tenuous due to CN-SK's maritime border [7], and as such was likely pressured to do so by China.
China has been trying to land a trilateral SK-JP-CN FTA for decades and in order to try and smoothen out negotiation recommitted to denuclearizing North Korea as recently as last year [3]. This is actually a major reason NK has continued to cultivate ties with Russia [4][5][6], as it gave NK strategic autonomy to maintain nuclear capabilities.
By dropping unification, NK is making the CN-SK portion significantly less acrimonious as they are already increasingly tenuous due to CN-SK's maritime border [7], and as such was likely pressured to do so by China.
[0] - https://www.reuters.com/investigations/china-is-rebuilding-i...
[1] - https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-foreign-minister-...
[2] - https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinas-first-nort...
[3] - https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/53131
[4] - https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-north-korea-forge-close...
[5] - https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/south-kor...
[6] - https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-likel...
[7] - https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/01/15/china-is-testing-s...