Xi Jinping lands in North Korea to meet Kim Jong Un in rare visit

Xi’s first foreign trip of the year carries diplomatic significance

President Xi usually travels out of the country three to four times a year, but his first foreign trip is usually a closely watched affair, as it often sends signals of Beijing’s diplomatic priorities for the year.

Here are some of the countries Xi chose for his first foreign trip of the year over the past few years:

• In 2022, following a lengthy absence in overseas travel due to the pandemic, Xi visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in September – signalling a shift in increased engagements with Central Asia
• In 2023, Xi’s first overseas trip was to Russia. That trip was also his first visit to Moscow since the start of the Ukraine war over a year ago. In total, Xi has visited Russia 11 times since 2013, more than any other country
• In 2024, Xi started his first trip aboard in May with a three-country tour of Europe, visiting France, Serbia and Hungary. It came at a time where Beijing faced growing tensions with Europe over the Ukraine war and trade frictions
• In 2025, Xi’s first foreign trip was to the Asean states of Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia in April. It came less than a week after he held a high-level party conference stressing the importance of further enhancing relations with neighbouring countries

A grand welcome for Xi

Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrived by car to Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square, where a military band and a “jubilant crowd” eagerly awaited their arrival, according to Chinese state news outlet Xinhua.

They were greeted by Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju, flanked by banners that read “Eternal Friendship between North Korea and China” and “Long Live the Unbreakable Friendship and Unity between North Korea and China”, the report added.

Xi then reviewed the guard of honour of the Korean People’s Army- the elite ceremonial unit of North Korea’s military – who shouted, in Korean, “Wishing Comrade Xi Jinping good health”.

On-the-ground footage posted by Xinhua showed an enthusiastic response from people attending the ceremony, with children jumping excitedly and crowds of people waving Chinese and North Korean flags and flower bouquets.

Why North Korea depends on China

China is North Korea’s most important economic partner, accounting for the majority of the country’s official trade.That relationship has become even more important as North Korea faces heavy international sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme.

Trade between the two countries remains strong this year. In the first two months of 2026, bilateral trade rose 22% compared with the same period in 2025.

North Korea gets most of its imports from China, including fuel, food, electronics, machinery, vehicles and textiles – giving Beijing significant influence over leader Kim Jong Un.

China is also an important gateway for North Korean exports. Many North Korean products reach overseas buyers through Chinese companies and ports.

Fake hair and wigs make up a large share of North Korea’s exports. Other exports include minerals such as tungsten, as well as frozen seafood, iron and steel products, and watch components.

The UN says North Korea also earns money by sending tens of thousands of workers overseas, particularly to China and Russia, to work in sectors including construction, logging, manufacturing and fishing.

Kim and wife welcomes Xi on arrival

Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju were seen welcoming Xi on arrival, with footage from state broadcaster CCTV showing them clapping and smiling. The clip shows the red carpet being rolled out and North Korean troops lining both sides of it.

The CCTV clip does not feature Xi and his entourage, although Xinhua separately reported that Kim and Xi shook hands, and that North Korean children presented flowers to Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan.

Updates are just trickling in – neither Chinese nor North Korean state media have publicly reported what the two leaders are up to right now – but we’ll bring you the latest as we get them.

How South Korea views this visit

Although Sorth Korea isn’t part of this meeting, it is hoping Xi Jinping will nudge Pyongyang towards opening up to Seoul and Washington.

When the visit was reported, South Korea’s minister in charge of North Korea relations made a wishful guess that Xi might bring up resuming talks with the US.

North Korea has frozen out the South and the US for several years now, instead focusing on its relationship with Moscow and Beijing.

Seoul’s previous government also took a hard stance against Pyongyang, playing propaganda loudspeakers at the border and at one point dropping leaflets over Pyongyang.

But very few experts believe that resuming inter-Korean talks sits high on Xi’s list. And in Seoul, the expectations are just as low.

Will Xi meet Kim’s daughter?

Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Ju Ae, has become a familiar face at major state events. She accompanied her father to Beijing for last year’s Victory Day commemoration. However, she did not officially meet Xi during that visit.That makes this trip an interesting one to watch. A formal meeting between Xi and Kim Ju Ae would almost certainly fuel speculation about succession – a message Beijing may prefer not to endorse too explicitly.There could, however, be a middle ground. With Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan, reportedly accompanying him on the trip, any interaction involving Kim Ju Ae could be presented as a family-to-family encounter rather than a political endorsement.In North Korea, symbolism matters. Who appears in the photos can sometimes be just as revealing as what is said in the official statements.

Seoul cannot give up on the North’s denuclearisation, says leader

South Korea must continuing pursuing its goal of North Korea’s denuclearisation, Seoul’s President Lee Jae Myung said as China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in North Korea for a two-day visit.”We should not give up on the goal of denuclearisation, because we cannot pursue nuclear armament ourselves,” he told reporters on Monday, noting that “North Korea is still producing nuclear material even at this very moment”.In 2022, North Korea’s Kim said the country’s status as a nuclear weapons state has “become irreversible” and Pyongyang has vowed to never relinquish its weapons.

Xinhua posts video of Xi’s flight arrival

Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency has posted a video of Xi’s plane touching down on the tarmac in Pyongyang.North Korean soldiers are seen in the video standing at attention, while some troops are riding on motorcycles to escort the visitors.There’s a scene with a banner that reads, in Korean and Mandarin, “Long live the unbreakable friendship between North Korea and China!”

Xi recently welcomed Trump and Putin in China

Xi’s trip to Pyongyang comes days after a flurry of diplomatic activity in Beijing.This month, Xi welcomed two high-profile guests to China: US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, on separate state visits.Both of those visits were heavy on pomp and ceremony, and showcased the personal rapport between Xi and the two leaders.These countries loom large in North Korean foreign policy: Pyongyang views the US as its main political enemy, and Russia as a growing friend to whom Kim has pledged unwavering support.

How have things changed since Xi’s last visit to North Korea?

Xi Jinping’s last visit to Pyongyang took place in 2019 – the first meeting between Kim and Xi to have taken place in North Korea.

But a lot has changed in the past seven years.

In 2022, Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine. Four years on, the war is still raging on – and it’s brought Pyongyang and Moscow closer than ever.

An estimated 11,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to fight against Ukraine, and it is believed that in return for providing soldiers, Pyongyang received food, money and technical help from Moscow.

“What has changed is that Kim has consolidated ties with Russia, given the supply of troops and ammunition. That perhaps makes Pyongyang less reliant on [China], since they can secure oil, gas, and other raw materials confidently from Russia,” said Professor Ian Chong of the National University of Singapore.

Russia aside, Kim also appears to be “exploring different directions” for his external policies, like “moving away from unification with South Korea”.

Pyongyang recently revised its constitution to remove any references to reunification with the South, underscoring its push for a more hostile policy torwards Seoul.