China announced on Friday that President Xi Jinping would visit North Korea on a two-day trip from June 8. The visit would mark his first trip to Pyongyang in almost seven years.
According to China’s Foreign Ministry, Xi will meet North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing, “Both sides will use the visit as an opportunity to promote greater development of China-North Korea relations in keeping with the times.”
China and North Korea had signed a cooperation and mutual assistance treaty 65 years ago, legally binding each other to provide military assistance if either of them came under attack.
John Delury, a senior fellow of the Asia Society, said “The message ​implicit from the Chinese side is … we are still the principal actor when it comes to North Korea. One of the audiences is Russia.”
Kim had earlier sent troops and weapons to support Russia in its war efforts in Ukraine, further deepening the ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.
China had hosted high-level meetings in Beijing last month for U.S President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin separately.
Xi had also invited Kim as a guest at a military parade in Beijing last September.
After a six-year suspension of passenger train services between the two capitals due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the services resumed in March while Air China had also restarted flights between Beijing and Pyongyang.
However, bookings are limited to some business travellers and exchange students while Chinese tourists are still excluded from travelling to North Korea.
This will be Xi’s first overseas trip in 2026. The Chinese President last travelled internationally to South Korea in late October, where he also met Trump.
South Korea has reacted to the news of Xi’s visit to its northern neighbour, asserting that it does not view it as a coordinated move by Beijing, Pyongyang, and Moscow.
An official from the South Korean presidential Blue House said, “We do not interpret this as a coordinated move by the ​three countries, nor are we sure how it would be linked to the U.S.-China summit.”
