Xi Makes First North Korea Trip in 7 Years
2026-06-08
Xi Makes First North Korea Trip in 7 Years
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, on the 8th, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported. He will stay through the 9th and meet with General Secretary Kim Jong Un. The aim is to underscore once again China-North Korea coordination as the United States looms over the talks.
Accompanying officials and the trip's significance
According to Xinhua, Xi was accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party and foreign minister. Xi's trip to North Korea is his first in seven years, since June 2019. It is the first China-North Korea summit in nine months, since Kim Jong Un visited Beijing in September 2025.
During Xi's previous visit in 2019, Kim Jong Un welcomed him at Pyongyang International Airport, and the two leaders held talks over two days. Xi also visited the Friendship Tower, which honors the Chinese Volunteer Army that fought in the Korean War, reaffirming the traditional friendship between the two countries. At the time, the first Trump administration was holding repeated US-North Korea talks aimed at denuclearizing North Korea, and Xi played the role of mediator, urging Kim to continue dialogue with the United States.
Aligned on US and Japan policy
US policy is also expected to be a main topic during this trip. Since the start of his second administration in January 2025, President Trump has called for a US-North Korea summit. The two leaders last met face to face in June 2019 at Panmunjom.
Xi discussed the Korean Peninsula situation with Trump, who visited China in May this year, and is expected to coordinate with Kim on his approach to the United States based on those talks. As Russia and North Korea deepen military cooperation amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China also appears to be seeking greater influence over Korean Peninsula issues.
China and North Korea also move in step when criticizing Japan. North Korean media have condemned the Sanae Takaichi administration's defense policy as a revival of militarism, echoing the language used by Chinese government and state-run media when criticizing the Takaichi government. Ahead of his trip, Xi contributed an article on the 8th to Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, saying, with Japan in mind, that all ambitions and schemes aimed at reviving militarism and harming regional security and stability must be opposed.
Behind this lies concern over Japan-US-South Korea security cooperation involving Japan, South Korea and the United States. In May, the Japanese and South Korean governments agreed on the importance of steadily strengthening 'strategic alignment' in their security talks, which were elevated from director-general level to vice ministerial level.
Senior-level exchanges intensify ahead of treaty's 65th year
At the China-North Korea summit, cooperation over the Tumen River, which flows along the border between China, Russia and North Korea, could also be on the agenda. China has long sought to develop the downstream section, which is controlled exclusively by Russia and North Korea, in order to access the Sea of Japan by ship from Jilin province.
In July, China and North Korea will mark 65 years since the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, which is regarded as backing for their de facto military alliance. The treaty stipulates that if either side falls into a state of war, the other will provide military assistance. Ahead of the milestone, the two countries have stepped up exchanges of senior officials.
About three weeks after Kim Jong Un visited China in September 2025, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui visited China and met with Premier Li Qiang. The following month, Li visited Pyongyang and met with Kim Jong Un. In April 2026, Wang Yi visited North Korea and met with Kim Jong Un, while a China-North Korea foreign ministers' meeting was also held, in what is seen as laying the groundwork for Xi's visit to North Korea this time.
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