Xi To Meet Kim Jong Un In First North Korea Visit Since 2019 Amid Nuclear Expansion Push

Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Pyongyang on June 8-9 for a two-day state visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, state media in both countries confirmed on Friday. This marks his first visit to the country in nearly seven years and his first overseas trip of 2026.

The announcement follows Xi's hosting of both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing within the past month. The trip coincides with the 65th anniversary of the 1961 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance — China's only mutual defence pact with any country — which obligates both sides to provide support if either is attacked.

The timing also prompted speculation about whether Xi intends to position himself as a mediator between Trump and Kim. Trump met Kim three times during his first term in an ultimately fruitless attempt to dismantle North Korea's nuclear programme, and has repeatedly expressed interest in resuming that diplomacy. During Trump's visit to Beijing last month, the two leaders reaffirmed a "shared goal to denuclearise North Korea," according to a White House readout — though a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson notably declined to directly confirm the agreement, saying Beijing's position maintained "continuity and consistency."

South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said he believes Xi will raise the prospect of resuming US-North Korea talks with Kim during the visit. Seoul is also hoping Xi can nudge Pyongyang towards resuming dialogue with the South, following Kim's declaration in December 2024 that reunification efforts were over and South Koreans a "sworn enemy."

Complex Partnership, Pivotal Moment

China accounts for the vast majority of North Korea's foreign trade and remains its most important diplomatic partner, but ties have cooled noticeably in recent years. North Korea's border closure during the Covid-19 pandemic and its subsequent deepening military relationship with Russia — including the deployment of thousands of troops to fight in Ukraine — have unsettled Beijing, which is wary of instability on its border and increased American focus on the region that North Korea's nuclear programme tends to invite.

The visit will inevitably be measured against Putin's 2024 trip to Pyongyang. Last month, senior Moscow officials attended the inauguration of a war memorial in Pyongyang honouring soldiers who fought for Russia.

The backdrop to Xi's visit was sharpened this week when Kim inspected a newly revealed nuclear fuel production facility and declared his intention to expand North Korea's nuclear forces "at an exponential rate."