Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week for a rare visit that comes just weeks after the Chinese leader hosted US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin for separate, nearly back-to-back visits in Beijing.
Xi will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a two-day state visit starting from next Monday, state media Xinhua announced on Friday. North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency also confirmed the trip.
The visit will be Xi’s first to North Korea since 2019 – the latest overture from Beijing to warm a historic but often complicated relationship with its neighbor that’s chilled in recent years. It will also be Xi’s first overseas trip this year.
