Xi Jinping arrives in Pyongyang for June 8-9 state visit, his first to North Korea in seven years, met by Kim Jong Un with 21-gun salute

Chinese President and CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on June 8, 2026 for a two-day state visit (June 8-9) — his first trip to North Korea since June 2019 and his first international visit of 2026. Xi was welcomed at Pyongyang International Airport by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju, with a formal ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square featuring a 21-gun salute and national anthems. Xi traveled with his wife Peng Liyuan and a delegation including Cai Qi (director of the CCP General Office) and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Xi declared that Beijing-Pyongyang relations stand at a 'new historical starting point, facing new development opportunities,' and pledged to 'oppose hegemony, authoritarianism and all attempts to revive militarism that endanger regional security.' The visit was framed partly around the 65th anniversary of the 1961 China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. Strategically, the trip is read as Beijing reasserting influence over Pyongyang to prevent over-alignment with Moscow following Russia's deepening military cooperation with North Korea since 2022, and as a counter to stalled US denuclearization diplomacy. It came just weeks after Xi hosted both Trump and Putin in Beijing.

Analysts expect economic sweeteners — rice and fertilizer shipments and resumed tourism — to feature, with the two leaders set to 'exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern.'