Chinese president arrives in North Korea , praises 'invincible friendship'
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang at dawn on Monday, June 8, for a two-day official visit, the first by a Chinese president to North Korea since 2019, and came at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju were at the forefront of Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Lee Yuan, amid a ceremonial ceremony and a parade of honor guards, in a message that underscored Pyongyang's desire to show the strength of the relationship with Beijing.
The visit is the Chinese president's first overseas trip in 2026 and follows separate summits in Beijing with both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, giving it additional weight in the balance of regional balances.
Beijing is seeking to reassert its crucial role on the Korean Peninsula, especially with the accelerating rapprochement between Pyongyang and Moscow in recent months.
Chinese economic incentives and aid to Pyongyang are expected to be discussed, while the Chinese president stressed in an article published in North Korean state newspapers that "the traditional friendship between the two countries will remain firm and invincible no matter how international circumstances change."
The Chinese leader is accompanied on his trip to North Korea by his wife, Peng Liyuan, Tsai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the General Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and others.
Nuclear coil in the interface
It coincided with sharp remarks from Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's sister, in which she stressed that the nuclear situation was an "irreversible and non-negotiable line," in parallel with the announcement of a new uranium enrichment facility and plans to increase the nuclear arsenal.
North Korea has declared its status as a nuclear power "irreversible" several times since the failure of the Kim-Trump summit in 2019 due to the lack of agreement on denuclearization and sanctions.
Donald Trump has expressed his willingness to meet Kim Jong Un again after meeting him three times during his first term, but his latest initiative in October has gone unanswered.
Xi's visit also comes as Kim Jong Un's ties with Moscow have deepened significantly, with thousands of troops sent to support Russian forces in their war against Ukraine.
Last year, Kim appeared alongside Xi and Putin in a major military parade in Beijing, showing him a strengthened position on the global political stage.
Trump fails on North Korea
While Washington has focused its attention on conflicts in the Middle East, Trump has made little progress on North Korea, especially on the nuclear issue.
With U.S. policy volatile and uncertain since Trump's return, many international leaders have been quick to strengthen their ties and alliances with China, but North Korea is the only country associated with Beijing with a formal and binding military alliance.
"The United States is currently waging an offensive war that will harm China's vital interests, particularly its energy supply," said Vladimir Tikhonov, a professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, adding that "the Chinese president appears to be seeking to consolidate the alliance" with North Korea in part for this reason.