Home China’s Xi to Visit North Korea in June

China’s Xi to Visit North Korea in June

June 5, 2026

(FILES) This picture taken on September 4, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 5, 2025 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. China's leader Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week, Chinese state media said on June 5, 2026. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP) / South Korea OUT / ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS / THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE --- /

China’s leader Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week, Chinese state media said Friday, his first trip to Pyongyang in seven years.

“At the invitation of Kim Jong Un… Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President of the People’s Republic of China, will pay a state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from June 8 to 9,” state broadcaster CCTV said.

Beijing is a vital source of diplomatic and political support to Pyongyang, which is one of the most isolated countries in the world and under heavy international sanctions.

Despite the close ties between the two countries, visits by Chinese presidents to North Korea are rare.

(FILES) This June 21, 2019 picture released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 22, 2019 shows China’s President Xi Jinping (centre R) speaking with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (front L) upon his departure at the airport in Pyongyang. China’s leader Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week, Chinese state media said on June 5, 2026. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP).

Xi last visited Pyongyang in 2019 — the first such trip by a Chinese leader since Hu Jintao went in 2005.

Xi rolled out the red carpet for Kim in Beijing in September, inviting him and Russian President Vladimir Putin as guests of honour to a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II.

North Korean state news agency KCNA confirmed the trip, without providing further detail.

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Jimisayo Opanuga

Jimisayo Opanuga is a web writer in the Digital Department at News Central TV, where she covers African and international stories. Her reporting focuses on social issues, health, justice, and the environment, alongside general-interest news. She is passionate about telling stories that inform the public and give voice to underreported communities.