Arab War Set Aside! China and North Korea Unite as Xi Jinping Meets Kim Jong Un
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with North Korean President Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on Monday (8/6/2026). Xi’s aircraft landed in North Korea, where he and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were welcomed by Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju.
Upon arrival, Xi praised the “unshakeable friendship” with Pyongyang. This marks his first overseas trip this year, following a series of summits hosted in Beijing. Xinhua reported the two leaders shaking hands amidst celebrations involving local children. Banners displayed messages such as “We warmly welcome Comrade Xi Jinping” and praised the “unshakeable friendship” between the two nations under their respective flags.
According to AFP, Xi undertook this journey after hosting US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin separately in Beijing, at a time when North Korea’s nuclear talks with Washington remain deadlocked. While the White House stated last month that Xi and Trump confirmed a shared goal for North Korean denuclearisation, Kim Jong Un’s influential sister asserted upon Xi’s arrival that North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme is a non-negotiable line.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung stated on Monday that Seoul must not abandon the pursuit of denuclearisation, noting that North Korea continues to produce nuclear material. Minseon Ku, a professor of diplomacy at DePaul University, suggested that while Beijing may have tacitly accepted North Korea as a nuclear state, Xi will likely emphasise that China prioritises regional stability above all else, especially as China manages its complex relationship with the US.
Seong-Hyon Lee, a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Centre for Asia, observed that Beijing appears to be shifting its strategy towards ensuring regime resilience rather than forcing denuclearisation. He noted that China’s broader regional strategy benefits from a stable, well-armed, and aligned buffer state that absorbs the military capacity of the US and its allies.
North Korea has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power since the failure of the 2019 Kim-Trump summit. Kim has also shown increased boldness following the war in Ukraine, securing vital support from Moscow after deploying troops to fight alongside Russian forces. Some analysts suggest this summit may be Xi’s way of countering Russia’s growing influence over North Korea, though Moscow does not possess the same level of power as China.
Xi last met Kim in September, when he invited both the North Korean leader and Putin to a military parade in Beijing commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Other analysts suggest that North Korea remains the only nation with a formal and binding military alliance with China, allowing it to serve as a useful counterbalance to US partners in the region, including South Korea and Japan. This comes amid worsening China-Japan relations, following hints from hardline Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding potential military intervention in China’s efforts regarding Taiwan. Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University, noted that as China’s international standing rises, Beijing is likely attempting to more actively pull Pyongyang into its diplomatic orbit.