Xi to Visit North Korea Next Week for First Time Since 2019

Xi will travel to Pyongyang for the first time since 2019 from June 8-9 at the invitation of Kim Jong Un, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday. That visit comes as Kim steps up diplomatic activity at home and showcases his expanding nuclear arsenal to the outside world.

Coming after his high-profile summits last month with Trump and Putin, the trip will allow Xi to cast China as one of the few powers able to engage with all sides in an increasingly fractured world. A meeting with Kim will remind Washington and Moscow of the influence Beijing holds over the North Korean regime, though that leverage has limits.

Despite years of Chinese pressure, North Korea has accelerated its nuclear program in recent years and deepened military ties with Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine.

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When Xi last visited North Korea in 2019, the Chinese president told Kim the world wanted him to make progress in nuclear talks with the US. Trump and Kim met three times during the US president's first term, but that engagement failed to convince the North Korean leader to scale back his nuclear program.

China's latest white paper on non-proliferation skipped stating "denuclearization" as a goal for the Korean Peninsula, in a shift from previous statements. While the White House said Trump and Xi last month confirmed their shared desire to "denuclearize North Korea," the Chinese readout didn't include such details. 

Such omissions have prompted speculation that Beijing is tacitly accepting a nuclear-armed North Korea to maintain regional stability.

North Korea's state media on Thursday released photos from a new uranium-enrichment facility. Kim was shown inspecting arrays of centrifuges that nuclear experts will analyze to estimate how much fissile material the plant could produce.

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Xi's visit comes after Kim attended a major military parade in Beijing in September last year. China and North Korea, historical allies, have recently moved to bolster bilateral ties with moves like restarting train and plane services between their capitals.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited North Korea in April and met with Kim. He highlighted the socialist bond between the two nations, adding that the sides should strengthen coordination in major global and regional affairs.