XI JINPING REPORTED TO BE PLANNING NORTH KOREA VISIT AS EARLY AS NEXT WEEK, HIS FIRST IN SEVEN YEARS

Chinese President Xi Jinping is reportedly planning to visit North Korea as early as next week, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Wednesday, citing unspecified sources familiar with the preparations. If the visit proceeds, it would be Xi's first trip to Pyongyang in seven years and would come just days after Xi's summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing, signaling that China is moving to deepen ties with its closest ally simultaneously with its engagement of Washington.

China's security and protocol teams have already traveled to Pyongyang to prepare for the potential visit, according to Yonhap, a standard pre-visit procedure that suggests the trip is in advanced planning stages. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last received Xi in June 2019, when the two leaders met in Pyongyang ahead of the G20 summit in Osaka. The current visit, if confirmed, would occur at a moment of significant geopolitical realignment across the Asia-Pacific region.

The reported visit reflects broader Chinese efforts to consolidate its alliances as tensions with the United States remain elevated. Beijing has recently also signed over 40 cooperation agreements with Russia during Putin's visit earlier this week. North Korea's state media has not confirmed Xi's upcoming visit, and China's foreign ministry declined to comment on the reports. Analysts say the visit would reinforce China's position as the primary guarantor of North Korean security and an indispensable actor in any future Korean peninsula negotiations.