Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit North Korea next week to court Kim Jong-un amid regional tensions

Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week, aiming to strengthen ties with Kim Jong-un. This marks Xi's first trip to Pyongyang in seven years.

During that seven-year period, North Korea sent troops and weapons to Russia for the Ukraine war, sought to further expand its nuclear weapons program, and officially abandoned the prospect of reunification with the south. Kim has consolidated power further and elevated his daughter as his potential successor.

China views North Korea as a "bargaining chip" in a region with multiple rivals, while Pyongyang depends on Beijing as its protector on the world stage.