Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit North Korea next week, a significant move in the restoration of ties between the two nations.
The Chinese President is set to make a state visit to North Korea on June 8-9 at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Friday, citing the International Department of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee.
This marks Xi’s second visit to North Korea; his first was in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the closure of borders between the two countries.
The visit is viewed as an effort to improve relations between China and North Korea after tensions over the pandemic, denuclearization, and Pyongyang’s closer military ties with Russia.
Kim attended a military parade in Beijing last September marking the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end, his first major multilateral event alongside Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Chinese officials have made several high-profile visits to North Korea, including Premier Li Qiang‘s trip in October and a visit by senior leader Zhao Leji in 2024.
Xi’s Visit Amid Nuclear Tensions
Xi’s visit follows recent meetings in Beijing with President Donald Trump and Putin. After his May summit with Xi Jinping, Trump said he proposed a plan to denuclearize North Korea. While the White House said both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to denuclearization, China’s account only noted discussions on the Korean Peninsula. Days later, China and Russia jointly opposed diplomatic isolation, sanctions, and military pressure against North Korea.
Meanwhile, Putin was on a visit to Beijing last month with renewed pledges of closer ties and several bilateral agreements, but without securing a deal on the long-discussed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline. While Moscow and Beijing said they had agreed on key parameters of the project, unresolved details remain, and no timeline was announced.
Notably, on Wednesday, North Korea unveiled a new facility to produce nuclear bomb fuels, with Kim Jong Un announcing plans to bolster the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate,” reported PBS News.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by a Benzinga editor.
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