Xi to visit North Korea next week to deepen ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to make a two-day visit to North Korea, commencing on June 8. This marks his first trip to the country in nearly seven years and comes at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The visit occurs at a time when North Korea is deepening its ties with Moscow, including sending troops and weapons to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The trip, Xi's first overseas engagement this year, underscores China's significant role in regional affairs and its efforts to strengthen relations with Pyongyang, its only formal treaty ally. Passenger train services between the capitals resumed in March after a six-year suspension, and Air China restarted flights. Xi's visit follows his recent summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Experts link Kim's recent visit to a new factory for nuclear material and his call for an 'exponential' expansion of Pyongyang's atomic arsenal to this impending meeting with Xi. South Korea views the trip as solely high-level bilateral exchanges unaligned to Moscow. Xi last travelled internationally in late October to South Korea, where he also met Trump. Before his September visit to Beijing, Kim inspected plans for a new intercontinental ballistic missile, the "Hwasong-20". China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that both sides will use the visit to promote greater development of China-North Korea relations. The two countries signed a cooperation and mutual assistance treaty 65 years ago.