The bilateral relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have been generally friendly, although they have been somewhat strained in recent years because of North Korea's nuclear program. They have a close special relationship and China is often considered to be North Korea's closest ally. China and North Korea have a mutual aid and co-operation treaty, signed in 1961, which is currently the only defense treaty either country has with any nation.

Korean is the native language for about 81 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the official and national language of both North Korea and South Korea. The language has notable differences in each of the Koreas, in part owing to different official standardizations of the language. They are still largely mutually intelligible, however. South Korean newspaper Daily NK has claimed North Korea criminalizes the use of the South's standard language with the death penalty, and South Korean education and media often portray the North's language as alien and uncomfortable.