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Xi to Visit North Korea Next Week in Bid to Reassert Ties

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency New plan
  • China announced President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea from June 8-9, his first trip in nearly seven years.
  • The visit aims to reassert ties with Pyongyang after the COVID-19 pandemic froze exchanges and Kim Jong Un deepened ties with Moscow.
  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for an

China announced President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea on a two-day trip starting June 8, marking his first visit in nearly seven years. Beijing aims to reassert its ties with Pyongyang, its only formal treaty ally, after the COVID-19 pandemic had frozen exchanges. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has also deepened ties with Moscow by sending troops and weapons to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The message implicit from the Chinese side is ... we are still the principal actor when it comes to North Korea.

— John DeluryA senior fellow of the Asia Society, commenting on the significance of Xi Jinping's visit to North Korea.

"The message implicit from the Chinese side is ... we are still the principal actor when it comes to North Korea," said John Delury, a senior fellow of the Asia Society. "One of the audiences is Russia." The announcement follows Xi's recent summits with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Xi is visiting North Korea at Kim's invitation, according to state news agency KCNA.

Passenger train services between the capitals resumed in March after a six-year suspension due to the pandemic, and Air China restarted flights. However, bookings have been limited, with Chinese tourists still excluded. Xi's visit to Pyongyang will be his first overseas trip of 2026. He last traveled internationally in late October to South Korea, where he also met Trump.

One of the audiences is Russia.

— John DeluryA senior fellow of the Asia Society, commenting on the geopolitical implications of Xi Jinping's visit to North Korea.

"At the symbolic level it is important for Xi to keep tabs on what's going on in Pyongyang," said Delury. He added that Xi visiting both Koreas within a year would be a "big win" for the peninsula, noting "There's a kind of symmetry that the Chinese like to keep up" regarding the two Koreas.

At the symbolic level it is important for Xi to keep tabs on what's going on in Pyongyang.

— John DeluryA senior fellow of the Asia Society, discussing the importance of Xi Jinping's visit to North Korea.

Kim called for an "exponential" expansion of Pyongyang's atomic arsenal this week during a visit to a new factory producing nuclear material, KCNA reported. Experts have linked Kim's site visit to the impending meeting with Xi. Before his September visit to Beijing, Kim had inspected plans for a new intercontinental ballistic missile, the "Hwasong-20."

There's a kind of symmetry that the Chinese like to keep up

— John DeluryA senior fellow of the Asia Society, explaining China's approach to relations with the two Koreas.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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