No detailed agenda for the visit has been released.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang today for a two-day state visit to North Korea, his first in seven years, during which he is expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
It will be the first meeting between the two leaders since last September, when they met in Beijing on the sidelines of a military parade that was also attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.
The official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Xi arrived in the North Korean capital this morning, accompanied by the first lady, Peng Liyuan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, and Cai Qi, one of the highest officials of the Chinese Communist Party.
No detailed agenda for the visit has been released.
International analysts consider, however, that the meeting could have important implications for bilateral relations, at a time when Beijing and Pyongyang seek to reinforce their traditional alliance in the face of their respective tensions with the United States.
Visit to reinforce Chinese influence over Pyongyang
The Chinese President’s visit to North Korea, which begins today, should serve to reaffirm Beijing’s influence over Pyongyang and reinforce an alliance that both countries consider increasingly important, according to analysts.
Xi Jinping begins a two-day visit to North Korea, his first since 2019, during which he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It will be their first meeting since last September, when Kim participated in a military parade in Beijing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.
Although an official agenda has not been released, experts consider that the displacement could have significant implications for the bilateral relationship and the strategic balance in Northeast Asia.
“A Chinese leader does not simply visit North Korea because the time has come to do so. Xi’s trip will have real implications for relations between China and North Korea,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor at Ewha University in Seoul, quoted by the Associated Press.
The visit comes weeks after Xi received US President Donald Trump and Putin in Beijing. The Chinese leader is expected to meet Trump again during a planned visit to the United States in September.
For Kwak Gil Sup, director of the specialized portal One Korea Center, Xi will seek to demonstrate China’s influence on the Korean Peninsula and assert a regional leadership role in a context of growing strategic competition with Washington.
China remains North Korea’s main trading partner and diplomatic ally. Beijing is often held responsible for softening the impact of international sanctions on the North Korean regime through cross-border trade and economic support.
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the mutual defense treaty signed between the two countries.
In recent years, however, doubts have arisen about the closeness between Beijing and Pyongyang as Kim has deepened cooperation with Russia, providing troops and weaponry to support the war in Ukraine in exchange for economic and military assistance.
According to several analysts, regaining more exclusive influence over North Korea could offer Xi an additional hand in negotiations with Trump, who has expressed interest in resuming diplomatic contacts with Kim.
In an article published today in the official North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun, Xi called for strengthening strategic cooperation between the two countries and joint opposition to “hegemony and the policy of coercion”, defending a multipolar world order.
Experts predict Beijing may announce new forms of economic support, including rice and fertilizer supplies, the return of Chinese tour groups to North Korea and joint economic development projects.
“North Korea cannot rely solely on Russia. It needs to align itself with China,” said Kwak.
The visit comes just days after Kim inaugurated a facility designed to produce materials for nuclear weapons and promised to strengthen the country’s nuclear capabilities “at an exponential rate.”
On Sunday, Kim Yo-jong, sister of the North Korean leader and one of the regime’s top officials, called the United States’ calls for the denuclearization of North Korea an “anachronistic dream.”
Analysts consider that one of Kim’s objectives will be to obtain from Beijing a tacit acceptance of North Korea’s status as a nuclear power, reducing Chinese pressure on the issue of denuclearization.
“Kim appears to want Xi to accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed neighbor,” Easley said.
Since negotiations with Trump failed in 2019, Kim has rejected offers of dialogue from the United States and South Korea and focused on expanding and modernizing North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.
