Overview
- State media in China and North Korea confirmed on Friday that Xi will make a two-day state visit to Pyongyang from Monday to Tuesday, June 8–9.
- The trip will be Xi's first visit to North Korea since 2019 and his first foreign trip of 2026.
- North Korea unveiled a new nuclear-material production facility the day before the visit was announced, and state media quoted Kim Jong Un calling for an "exponential" expansion of the country's nuclear forces.
- Analysts say Xi's visit aims to reassert Chinese influence as Pyongyang deepens ties with Russia and to manage risks from North Korea's growing nuclear capabilities; China remains Pyongyang's main economic partner, accounting for the vast majority of the DPRK's trade.
- Seoul has urged Beijing to play a constructive role on peninsula issues and says it is keeping close diplomatic contact, while recent satellite images and construction in Kim Il Sung Square had already raised speculation about a high‑level visit.