Xi Jinping Makes First North Korea Visit in 7 Years
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- Xi Jinping traveled to Pyongyang, his first visit in seven years, after a period of reduced foreign trips (averaging 14 trips a year 2013‑2019, dropping to six trips 2022‑2025, only one overseas trip in 2020 and none in 2021).
- Xi wrote in a newspaper editorial that Beijing‑Pyongyang relations were at a “new historical starting point” before his visit.
- North Korea launched eight missiles since the start of the year, unveiled a new AI‑guided tactical cruise missile, and displayed a new weapons‑grade nuclear materials factory.
- China is wary of Russia’s growing influence over North Korea, which has received up to $14.4 bn from Moscow for troop deployments and weapons exports, most likely in sensitive military technology.
- China may try to reassert its senior partner role by offering economic incentives to Pyongyang and limiting North Korea’s military strengthening, analysts say.
- South Korea hopes the visit will help address Korean Peninsula issues and has lobbied for a possible Kim‑Trump meeting later this year.
- Lee Sang Yong warned that Beijing wants to prevent Pyongyang from leaning too heavily toward Moscow.
Why it matters: China seeks to reassert its senior partnership and curb Russian sway over Pyongyang by offering economic incentives, while North Korea’s missile advances and nuclear‑material expansion raise security concerns for South Korea and the United States, potentially reshaping the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula.
