Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pyongyang on June 8, 2026, his first overseas trip this year and first to North Korea in seven years, aiming to boost ties with the reclusive nuclear-armed nation. This visit occurs amid North Korea's strengthening relations with Russia, with whom it signed a mutual defence pact following the Ukraine war.
China, historically a key ally since the Korean War and signatory to the 1961 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, seeks to remind Pyongyang of its indispensable role despite Russia's growing influence. North Korea, one of the world's most isolated and poorest nations with a 2024 GDP of $26.6bn, relies on China for up to 95 percent of its trade, totaling $2.74bn in bilateral trade. Despite past strains over North Korea's nuclear tests and UN sanctions, Beijing has worked to repair relations since 2018, emphasizing denuclearization while safeguarding regional stability and countering US military expansion.
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