Analysts see nod to Moscow in Xi’s upcoming visit to Pyongyang

China has announced that President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week, marking his first trip to the country in nearly seven years and signalling Beijing's intention to reaffirm ties with its only formal treaty ally, which has increasingly turned to Moscow in recent years.

Xi is scheduled to travel to North Korea on June 8 for a two-day visit, during which he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues of mutual interest, according to a statement by China's Foreign Ministry.

“Both sides will use the visit as an opportunity to promote greater development of China-North Korea relations in keeping with the times,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a briefing on June 5.

The visit comes as Beijing seeks to strengthen its influence in Pyongyang following years of reduced engagement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and North Korea's growing military and political cooperation with Russia. Since 2023, Kim has deepened ties with Moscow, supplying troops and weapons in support of Russia's war in Ukraine.

China and North Korea signed a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in 1961, obliging both countries to provide military support to one another in the event of an attack.

Analysts view Xi's trip as a reminder that China remains North Korea's most important strategic partner despite Pyongyang's expanding relationship with Moscow.

“The message implicit from the Chinese side is that we are still the principal actor when it comes to North Korea,” John Delury, a senior fellow at the Asia Society, told Reuters. “One of the audiences is Russia.”

The announcement also underscores China's increasingly active diplomacy. More than a dozen foreign leaders have visited Beijing this year, including US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kim himself travelled to Beijing last September to attend a large-scale military parade, arriving aboard his trademark armoured train. Transportation links between the two countries have also gradually resumed following the pandemic, with passenger rail services restarting in March after a six-year suspension and Air China restoring flights between the two capitals.

Observers have speculated that Xi's visit could position Beijing as a potential intermediary between Washington and Pyongyang. Trump met Kim three times during his first presidential term, but diplomatic efforts stalled after negotiations collapsed.

Since then, North Korea has continued expanding its nuclear weapons program despite international sanctions. Earlier this week, Kim visited a facility producing weapons-grade nuclear material and declared that the country would strengthen its nuclear forces at an “exponential rate,” according to state media reports.

Against that backdrop, Xi's visit is expected to focus not only on bilateral ties but also on the broader strategic balance in Northeast Asia, where competition among China, Russia, the United States and their respective partners continues to intensify.

By Nazrin Sadigova