Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea from June 8 to 9, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday, his first trip in nearly seven years as Beijing looks to reassert ties with Pyongyang.

The announcement follows separate summits Xi hosted in Beijing for US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. Trump, who met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times in his first term, previously said he would be open to meeting the North Korean leader again.

Xi would be visiting on an invitation from Kim, North Korean state media KCNA said.Kim was a guest at a massive military parade in Beijing last September, travelling to the Chinese capital on his signature green armoured train.

Beijing has worked to draw Pyongyang - its only formal treaty ally - back into its fold, after the COVID-19 pandemic froze exchanges and the North Korean leader deepened relations with Moscow by sending troops and weapons to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"The implicit message from the Chinese side is ... we are still the principal actor when it comes to North Korea," said John Delury, a senior fellow of the Asia Society. "One of the audiences is Russia," he said.

Passenger train services between Beijing and Pyongyang resumed in March, after a six-year suspension that began with the pandemic, with Air China later restarting flights between the capitals. Bookings, however, have been limited to some business travellers and exchange students, with Chinese tourists still excluded.

Source:Ndtv