Xi arrives – Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday for a two-day summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, marking the 65th anniversary of their mutual defense treaty and testing a delicate balance as North Korea deepens ties with Russia amid globa
Chinese President Xi Jinping drove into central Pyongyang on Monday to an official welcome ceremony on Kim Il Sung Square, the site that commemorates his counterpart’s grandfather, as North Korean and Chinese flags lined the streets.
Xi’s motorcade arrived for a two-day summit with Kim Jong Un. with Kim meeting him at the outset alongside Kim’s teen daughter. who is widely seen as his likely successor. After disembarking. Xi began laying out the message of the visit as the two countries marked a milestone tied to one of the few defense commitments China has ever made.
The trip is officially timed to the 65th anniversary of their mutual defense treaty, a pact China signed with North Korea—an arrangement described as the only such treaty China has ever entered. The agreement was inked just days after North Korea went into an alliance with the Soviet Union.
Xi’s appearance in Pyongyang comes after a long pause. His last state visit to North Korea took place in June 2019, his first since taking office. That stop followed a period when Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump met repeatedly in 2018 and 2019, bringing rare direct diplomacy to the forefront of the North Korean agenda.
Now, Pyongyang is again being courted by powerful neighbors as the world’s geopolitical order strains. China and Russia have both moved closer to North Korea at a time when global instability has sharpened the stakes of any security alignment.
In June 2024, Pyongyang and Moscow signed a new security pact that formalized North Korean aid in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Last month, North Korea sent soldiers to march for the first time in Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow.
Xi’s own message. carried in remarks published in the Rodong Sinmun. North Korea’s official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party. matched the visit’s framing. Xi said the two countries “must oppose hegemony and power politics. as well as all attempts and actions to revive militarism and endanger regional security and stability.”.
The timing is also likely to be read in Washington, where attention remains on whether President Donald Trump may be seeking an audience soon.
With Xi on the ground for this summit and Russia already cementing a security relationship with North Korea. the sequence of recent moves points to a simple reality: Kim Jong Un is again navigating a world in which his country’s alliances can be leveraged—by Moscow. by Beijing. and potentially. soon. by the United States. For now. the visit’s opening ceremony on Kim Il Sung Square is the latest proof of how quickly the center of gravity can shift when major powers come calling.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
Xi Jinping Kim Jong Un Pyongyang North Korea China North Korea relations mutual defense treaty Rodong Sinmun Russia security pact Ukraine war Victory Day parade