Xi to visit North Korea to reassert regional influence

Beijing, June 7 (EFE).- Chinese President Xi Jinping will begin a two-day state visit to North Korea on Monday, his first trip to the country in seven years, as Beijing seeks to reinforce its influence over Pyongyang amid North Korea’s deepening ties with Russia and shifting regional security dynamics.

The visit, scheduled for June 8-9, comes weeks after Xi’s summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, after which the White House said both leaders had reaffirmed a «shared goal» of denuclearizing North Korea.

Analysts, however, expect Xi’s trip to focus less on the nuclear issue and more on reaffirming China’s strategic importance to its longtime ally.

According to Chris Green, a senior consultant on the Korean Peninsula at the International Crisis Group, Xi’s presence in Pyongyang strengthens the North Korean regime both symbolically and politically.

«Pyongyang’s leaders usually prefer bilateral meetings and tend to avoid multilateral forums. But Kim followed Xi’s lead by attending Beijing’s Victory Day commemorations last September, helping revive a relationship that had cooled somewhat in recent years,» Green said.

He expects the visit to be «laden with symbolism» and marked by carefully choreographed displays of unity, while cautioning that it may produce few substantive policy announcements.

Denuclearization remains a distant prospect

The visit comes as North Korea continues to reject international calls to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said on Sunday that the country’s nuclear status was «irreversible» and an «undeniable reality,» dismissing White House assertions that Beijing and Washington shared a commitment to North Korea’s denuclearization.

«The strategy of ceaselessly strengthening the defensive nuclear deterrence proclaimed by the head of state is irreversible,» Kim said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Although China has historically opposed North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and supported UN Security Council sanctions, Beijing has increasingly downplayed those differences in recent years in favor of preserving regional stability and maintaining close political ties with Pyongyang.

Sydney Seiler, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said it is unlikely Xi will devote significant political capital to persuading Kim to return to denuclearization talks.

«While some observers expect Xi to increase pressure on North Korea’s nuclear issue or set limits on its growing ties with Russia, such outcomes appear unlikely,» Seiler wrote in a recent analysis.

China seeks to reaffirm its role

Xi’s trip follows months of renewed diplomatic engagement between Beijing and Pyongyang.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui visited China in September 2025, while Chinese Premier Li Qiang traveled to Pyongyang the following month for celebrations marking the anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also visited North Korea in April, his first trip there since 2019.

Transportation links suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic have likewise been restored, with passenger rail and air services between Beijing and Pyongyang resuming in March after a six-year hiatus.

According to William Yang, a senior Northeast Asia analyst at the International Crisis Group, Xi’s visit is intended to demonstrate the importance Beijing places on its relationship with Pyongyang at a time of heightened regional competition.

As North Korea deepens cooperation with Russia and the United States, South Korea and Japan strengthen trilateral security coordination, China is seeking to preserve its influence over a key strategic partner and protect its interests in Northeast Asia.

«China wants to use Xi’s visit to reaffirm its influence over Pyongyang and safeguard its strategic interests in the region,» Yang said. EFE

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