Story perspectives

North Korea Preps Xi Visit, Trade Hits $326 Million

5/21/2026

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Summary

Xi Jinping Visit

North Korea is expected to host Chinese President Xi Jinping on a state visit next week.
Chinese Foreign Liaison Department officials inspected security and protocol in Pyongyang ahead of the visit.
China’s customs reported trade with North Korea reached about $326 million last month, the highest level since November 2017.
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said officials are watching the talks and hope China will help stabilize the Korean peninsula.

Summary

Xi Visits NK

Xi will make a state visit to North Korea on the 65th anniversary of the 1961 cooperation treaty.
Kim Jong Un cited his 2025 Beijing trip to stress the partnership as Xi prepares to arrive.
President Lee Jae-myung asked Xi in January to mediate inter-Korean ties, receiving a positive response.
Analysts say Xi may mediate between the United States and North Korea after his summit with President Donald Trump.

Summary

Putin Attends Parade

Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the Beijing military parade alongside Chinese President Xi and North Korean leader Kim, indicating a three-way alignment.
The report notes that China-North Korea relations, which cooled during the COVID-19 pandemic, are now being reinforced.
South Korea’s foreign ministry declined to comment, reflecting limited official response from Seoul.
Chinese security and protocol officials have arrived in Pyongyang to arrange logistical details for the possible state visit.

Summary

Xi Counters Japan

Analysts say Xi Jinping’s planned visit counters Japan’s “new militarism.”
Japan has eased export controls on lethal weapons and is moving a constitutional amendment to name the Self-Defense Forces.
The visit’s timing is viewed as Beijing’s signal of closer alignment with North Korea amid regional security tensions.
Xi’s last presidential visit to Pyongyang was in June 2019, when he met Kim Jong-un.

History

Historical Context

China and North Korea forged a mutual-defence pact on 11 July 1961, when Kim Il-sung and Premier Zhou Enlai signed the Sino-North Korean Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance. The agreement endured 63 years, the longest bilateral security pact in East Asia, and underpins Xi Jinping’s 2024 state visit to meet Kim Jong Un and coordinate with Vladimir Putin.

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Xi Jinping Visit

North Korea is expected to host Chinese President Xi Jinping on a state visit next week.
Chinese Foreign Liaison Department officials inspected security and protocol in Pyongyang ahead of the visit.
China’s customs reported trade with North Korea reached about $326 million last month, the highest level since November 2017.
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said officials are watching the talks and hope China will help stabilize the Korean peninsula.

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