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Xi Jinping Touches Down in Pyongyang to Reassert Control Over Rogue State

The Chinese leader's first visit to North Korea in five years signals a desperate bid to maintain influence as Kim Jong Un pivots toward Moscow.

Foreign PolicyPublished June 8, 2026 at 12:18 PMProcessed June 8, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un

Chinese President Xi Jinping has landed in North Korea for his first official visit since 2019, highlighting Beijing's urgent need to reassert authority over a regime that has increasingly looked to Russia for partnership. While the state-run pageantry in Pyongyang attempts to project a facade of alliance, the reality is a calculated power play.

Beijing views North Korea as a strategically vital buffer, yet the erratic nature of the Kim regime has become a liability. As North Korea strengthens its ties with Moscow, Xi is clearly moving to ensure that Pyongyang remains firmly within China's sphere of influence.

This trip is not a celebration of friendship; it is a cold, pragmatic effort by the Chinese Communist Party to maintain leverage over a volatile nuclear-armed state that threatens regional stability.

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