Xi Jinping to Make State Visit to North Korea on June 8-9

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea for a state visit on June 8-9 at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The announcement was issued simultaneously on June 5 by Chinese and North Korean state media. It marks Xi’s first visit to North Korea since June 2019.

Xi will make the trip from Monday to Tuesday. The two governments released no details on the agenda or expected outcomes. Foreign ministries in both capitals offered no further comment on Friday. The visit follows a September meeting in Beijing at which Xi and Kim pledged mutual support and enhanced cooperation.

Kim attended a Chinese military parade in the capital that month alongside other foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. North Korea unveiled a new facility to produce ingredients for nuclear bombs on June 4. South Korea’s military assessed the site as a uranium enrichment plant.

The announcement of the trip came a day after the facility’s unveiling. Xi’s last overseas trip before the announced North Korea visit was to South Korea last fall for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in quick succession in Beijing in the weeks before the North Korea visit announcement.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to restore diplomacy with Kim. U.S. Must first drop its demand for North Korea to denuclearize as a precondition for talks. Kim has been focusing on expanding his nuclear arsenal since his high-stakes diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019.

North Korea is China’s biggest trade partner and aid provider.

Kim Jong Un has sent troops and conventional weapons to support Russia’s war against Ukraine. N. has imposed economic sanctions on North Korea because of its nuclear and missile development.

Security Council. At their meeting in Beijing last month, Vladimir Putin and Xi expressed opposition to “foreign policy isolation, economic sanctions, military pressure and other methods of creating threats to the security of North Korea,” according to a Kremlin statement.