Xi Jinping to visit North Korea June 8‑9, 2026

Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a two‑day state visit to North Korea on 8‑9 June 2026, his first trip to the country since June 2019. The visit was announced by state media in both nations and is taking place at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. It follows Xi’s recent hosting of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, underscoring China’s effort to reaffirm its influence over Pyongyang amid growing Russian ties.

Analysts say the trip aims to deepen the strategic partnership that rests on a 1961 defence treaty and on China supplying about 95 % of North Korea’s trade and 85 % of its exports. The timing coincides with North Korea’s public unveiling of a new uranium‑enrichment facility and Kim’s statement that the regime’s nuclear material production has more than doubled in five years and will expand “at an exponential rate.” The visit is expected to address the nuclear programme, bilateral trade, and regional security, with Beijing positioning itself as the key mediator in the Korean Peninsula’s stability.