BEIJING, June 5, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - China's leader Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week, Chinese state media said Friday, his first trip to Pyongyang in seven years.

"At the invitation of Kim Jong Un... Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President of the People's Republic of China, will pay a state visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from June 8 to 9," state broadcaster CCTV said.

Beijing is a vital source of diplomatic and political support to Pyongyang, which is one of the most isolated countries in the world and under heavy international sanctions.

Despite the close ties between the two countries, visits by Chinese presidents to North Korea are rare.

Xi last visited Pyongyang in 2019 -- the first such trip by a Chinese leader since Hu Jintao went in 2005.

Xi rolled out the red carpet for Kim in Beijing in September, inviting him and Russian President Vladimir Putin as guests of honour to a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II.

North Korean state news agency KCNA confirmed the trip, without providing further detail.