China's state broadcaster CCTV announced on June 6 that President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea on June 8-9 at the invitation of leader Kim Jong Un. This marks Xi's first visit to Pyongyang since 2019. The last Chinese leader to visit North Korea before that was in 2005.
The trip comes as Beijing aims to tighten relations with its sole formal ally, which has been strengthening ties with Russia since the pandemic and the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has persuaded Pyongyang to provide troops and weapons to support Russia's military campaign.
The meeting in Pyongyang occurs just days after Xi hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, where they discussed the war between the U.S. and its ally Iran. Xi also recently welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump to the Chinese capital, stating the two nations should cooperate as partners and warning Washington not to interfere with Beijing's sovereignty over Taiwan.
Although North Korea has moved closer to Moscow, Beijing remains a crucial political and economic supporter for the heavily sanctioned and diplomatically isolated country. According to 2022 statistics from the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, North Korea depends on China for 95% of its total trade volume and 85% of its exports.
Earlier, in April, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Pyongyang and called for the two countries to "strengthen coordination" on international and regional issues, maintaining "close communication and interaction."
One issue of concern for Beijing is North Korea's nuclear program. On June 5, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Jong Un called for an exponential expansion of the nuclear arsenal. Expert Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) noted that Beijing is closely monitoring North Korea's "extremely rapid" nuclear program. "If North Korea takes provocative and belligerent actions, it could trigger regional conflict, which runs counter to China's interests," Hong said.
Earlier, South Korea expressed hope that Beijing would play a constructive role in helping North Korea and China contribute to regional peace and stability.
