Key facts
- President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea from June 8 for two days.
- This is Xi's first visit to North Korea in nearly seven years.
- The visit is at the invitation of Kim Jong Un.
- North Korea plans to build a 10,000-ton destroyer and develop secret underwater weapons.
- The trip occurs as North Korea deepens ties with Moscow.
- The visit underscores China's role in regional affairs.
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. North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un's recent display of nuclear-processing capabilities appears timed with reports of an impending visit by China's leader and fuelled by insecurities about Seoul's nuclear submarine talks with Washington. Analysts also say that mounting trilateral talks involving the United States, Japan and South Korea have galvanised Kim into doubling down on Pyongyang's status as a nuclear-armed state. Ahead of Xi's visit, North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong Un ordered the navy to deploy a new 10,000-ton destroyer, the Kang Kon, and another 5,000-ton warship, the Choe Hyon, as soon as possible, and to develop secret underwater weapons.