By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-06-05 02:39:28 | Updated at 2026-06-07 11:49:44
2 days ago
Beijing - Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week, marking his first trip to the country in more than six years.
China’s top leader will visit North Korea from June 8-9, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
The trip to North Korea will allow Xi to cast China as one of the few world powers still able to engage all sides in an increasingly fractured world. The visit, Xi’s first outside China in 2026, comes after he hosted President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Beijing in May.
A Pyongyang trip and meeting with Kim will remind both Trump and Putin of the influence Beijing holds over the North Korean regime, though that leverage has limits. Despite years of Chinese pressure, North Korea has accelerated its nuclear programme and deepened its military ties with Russia since its invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing has long been North Korea’s primary backer, providing a crucial economic lifeline as the US and its allies enforce sanctions linked to the nuclear programme.
When Xi last visited North Korea in 2019, the Chinese president told Kim the world wanted him to make progress in nuclear talks with the US. Trump and Kim met three times during the US president’s first term, but that engagement failed to convince the North Korean leader to scale back his nuclear programme.
Xi’s visit comes after Kim attended a major military parade in Beijing in September 2025. China and North Korea, historical allies, have recently moved to bolster bilateral ties with moves like restarting train and plane services between their capitals.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited North Korea in April and met with Kim. He highlighted the socialist bond between the two nations, adding that the sides should strengthen coordination in major global and regional affairs. BLOOMBERG
