Key facts
- Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea from June 8-9.
- This is Xi's first trip to North Korea in nearly seven years.
- The visit aims to reinforce ties between China and North Korea.
- North Korea has been slowly building up its nuclear weapons program.
- Kim Jong Un toured a new nuclear fuel facility and promised to build more bombs.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit North Korea from June 8 to 9, according to state news agency Xinhua. This marks Xi's first visit to the country in nearly seven years, signaling Beijing's intent to strengthen its relationship with Pyongyang. China has been actively working to re-engage with North Korea, its treaty ally, following a period of strained relations exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Concurrently, North Korea has been slowly building up its nuclear weapons program, with Kim Jong Un recently touring a new nuclear fuel facility and promising to build more bombs. North Korea has also deepened its ties with Russia, providing troops and weapons for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Xi last visited Pyongyang in 2019. The trip comes weeks after Xi hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on May 19-20, where they signed more than 40 cooperation agreements and agreed to extend a friendship treaty.