UPDATE - Xi, Kim set to hold bilateral summit in Beijing on China-North Korea ties

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS ON KIM-PUTIN MEETING, BACKGROUND

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China’s President Xi Jinping will host North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Beijing for a bilateral summit, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday, according to Chinese state media.

Xi and Kim “will hold talks to exchange in-depth views on China-North Korea relations and issues of common concern,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in the capital.

It would mark their six such bilateral summit since 2018.

​​​​​​​Guo did not give a time or date for the summit.

However, he added: "China is willing to work with North Korea to strengthen strategic communication, enhance exchanges and cooperation, deepen the sharing of governance experiences, and advance the development of their respective socialist causes and the traditional friendly cooperative relations between China and North Korea."

Kim is in Beijing – his fifth trip to China – where he attended China’s Victory Day parade on Wednesday alongside Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and 26 foreign leaders.

The meeting between Xi and Kim comes as North Korea’s ties with Russia have grown closer over the past few years.

Kim held his fourth bilateral summit with Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, where the North Korean leader pledged “full support” to Russia amid its war with Ukraine.

Moscow and Pyongyang last June signed a comprehensive strategic partnership pact under which the two sides are required to extend military aid in case of a third-party attack.

Soon after North Korea deployed thousands of soldiers to Russia, and South Korea has claimed it lost some 2,000 troops in the continuing Ukraine war.

- Ties with China important on economic side

Kim, 41, traveled to Beijing using his special armored train, accompanied by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, along with other senior officials. He reached Beijing on Tuesday afternoon, some 20 hours after he left Pyongyang on Monday afternoon.

He is also accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae, in her first overseas trip with the North Korean leader.

Xi and Kim held their first five summits in the space of just two years, 2018 and 2019.

Later years disrupted cross-border travels due to COVID-19.

China is an essential economic partner of North Korea – one of the world’s most-sanctioned countries due to its nuclear arsenal – whose economy in 2024 saw its biggest expansion in eight years.

According to economic data from Beijing, China's exports to North Korea in the first half of 2025 grew 33% to $1.05 billion, while imports rose 20% to $210 million.

North Korea’s gross domestic product is estimated to have grown by 3.7% on an annual basis in 2024, following 3.1% on-year growth in 2023, South Korea’s Central Bank said last month.

It added that the growth was led by increased exports and advances in the construction and manufacturing industries.