Chinese FM's Pyongyang visit signals coordination ahead of Trump-Xi summit

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, shakes hands with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son-hui, during their meeting in Beijing, Sept. 28, 2025. Captured from CGTN's social media

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to North Korea from Thursday to Friday, at Pyongyang’s invitation, is seen by experts as an effort to coordinate positions ahead of a United States-China summit in May, potentially laying the groundwork for a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The trip comes at a sensitive moment in peninsular diplomacy. Speculation over a possible Trump-Kim summit has been growing in Washington and Pyongyang since early this year, and Beijing, which has historically served as a back channel between the two sides, is keen to shape any outcome before Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping sit down in May.

Wang’s visit signals China’s effort to reassert its central role in regional diplomacy, particularly as discussions involving North Korea are expected to feature in U.S.-China talks.

Seoul expressed cautious expectations over the visit, emphasizing the need for constructive dialogue.

“The agenda for talks between North Korea and China has not been disclosed, but the South Korean government hopes they will engage in constructive discussions of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula,” a unification ministry official said Thursday.

The official added that a meeting between Wang and Kim Jong-un could not be ruled out, though such an encounter is not guaranteed. During Wang’s previous visit to Pyongyang in September 2019, he did not meet Kim, despite having done so in May 2018.

Experts say the visit is closely tied to broader diplomatic calculations surrounding U.S.-China engagement.

“When Trump visits China, they will certainly discuss the North Korea issue, and based on Trump’s previous behavior, he will almost certainly ask China to play a role in facilitating a meeting with Kim Jong-un. Taking that into account, Foreign Minister Wang Yi has to first listen to North Korea’s views and then present China’s own position (to the U.S.). That agenda is likely to be treated as an important topic,” Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University told The Korea Times.

Cheong Seong-chang, vice president of the Sejong Institute, offered a similar assessment.

“There may be multiple reasons for Wang's visit to Pyongyang, but with the Korean Peninsula set to feature on the agenda at the U.S.-China summit, North Korea is likely seeking to understand China’s position and narrow any differences between their views, given that the summit could pave the way for a meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un,” he said.

On whether Wang might also pay a visit to South Korea after his Pyongyang trip, Cheong said an immediate stop in Seoul was unlikely given the state of inter-Korean relations, but that China would not rule it out indefinitely.

“Wang can visit South Korea at any time. Although China pursues equidistant diplomacy, it still prioritizes relations with South Korea, given Seoul’s potential to help revive China’s sluggish economy,” he said.

Cheong added that North Korea and China could also discuss scenarios such as a possible visit by Kim to Beijing while Trump is there to meet Xi, or a future trip by Trump to Pyongyang, noting that Kim visited China in 2018 to coordinate their positions before meeting Trump in Singapore.