Sino-NK

PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) meets with North Korean President of State Affairs Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on 10 April, 2026. | Image: China MOFA.

North Korean President of State Affairs Kim Jong-un met with China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi on 10 April in the first visit by China’s head diplomat to Pyongyang since just prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, in September 2019. 

Following protocol whereby China typically announces such visits to North Korea at short notice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs first announced Wang’s trip only on 8 April, the day before his departure. In a communiqué which made frequent references to Kim’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in September, China reiterated a similarly pragmatic message:

China is willing to work with the DPRK to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and two countries, strengthen exchanges and contacts, promote practical cooperation, and inject new-era connotations into the traditional China–DPRK friendship.

China’s MOFA cited Kim as stating that the DPRK is willing to “take the grand blueprint established by the Ninth Congress of the WPK as an opportunity to continue deepening the friendship and cooperative ties centered on socialism with China”. Although analysts have noted that the Ninth WPK Congress in Pyongyang in February made no explicit mention of China in its final report, it did give a nod to developing “the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation with neighbouring countries onto a higher stage”, an oblique reference to the PRC.

During the visit, Wang held talks with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son-hui, a dialogue in which both sides “exchanged in-depth views on current international and regional issues”. Official messaging from both countries made no mention of the US war with Iran, although the Chinese MOFA release on talks between Kim and Wang cited “undergoing rapid and turbulent changes” in the “current international situation”.

Wang’s presence in the North Korean capital contributes to a broader trend of renewed high-level diplomatic engagement between the two countries, which peaked last autumn. As part of this trend – which notably included a meeting between Kim and Xi, as well as the first visit by a Chinese premier to North Korea in 16 years – Wang also met Choe in Beijing last September.

The visit comes ahead of a scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China which has been pushed back to 14-15 May, during which the Korean Peninsula is expected to be on the agenda. Again, on 6 April, Trump referenced getting along “very well” with Kim to the US press corps.

Despite rumours of further face-to-face talks between Trump and Kim on the sidelines of the US president’s visit to China, there remains no confirmation a meeting will take place. On 8 April, former US National Security Council Chief of Staff Fred Fleitz said he believed there was a “good chance of a Trump-Kim summit this fall”, timing which would come after Trump’s China visit in May.

Trump met with Kim three times in his first term, prompting a series of five meetings between Kim and Xi in 2018 and 2019.

More recently, the US and the PRC appear to have deprioritised DPRK denuclearisation. As analysed by Sino-NK, both the White House in its National Security Strategy, and the PRC State Council in its latest white paper on national defence, both dropped mention of denuclearisation on the peninsula late last year.

Resumption of Beijing-Pyongyang Train Services

The first train of the resumed Beijing-Pyongyang international passenger train service pulls into Pyongyang Station on 12 March, 2026. | Image: Embassy of the PRC in the DPRK.

Wang’s visit to the DPRK concluded following the recent reconnection of transport services between China and the DPRK, as North Korea continues to reopen following the Covid-19 pandemic.

On 12 March, train services between Beijing and Pyongyang resumed after six years, crossing at Dandong-Sinuiju. Welcoming the first train of the resumed service to Pyongyang station, PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Wang Yajun described it as a “happy occasion the people of both countries have jointly awaited, and a major event in the development of bilateral relations”.

The resumed service schedules mirror those from prior to the pandemic, with the 25-hour Beijing-Pyongyang service operating in both directions four times weekly, while a shorter 6-hour shuttle connects the North Korean capital and the Chinese border city of Dandong daily.

With North Korea still all but absent of Chinese tourists, passengers will initially comprise North Koreans working in China, businesspeople, diplomats, Chinese students studying abroad, and family visitors. China’s official Xinhua news agency stated the restoration of the service would “further promote people-to-people exchange, economic and trade cooperation, and cultural exchanges between the two countries”.

The anticipated impact on border areas of both countries was a theme emphasised by Yan Hongfeng in an opinion piece published on China.com, a subsidiary of the PRC state-owned China Internet Information Centre. Dandong and its North Korean twin city Sinuiju ­­were expected to benefit from increased passenger traffic, with the resumption also facilitating “the circulation of agricultural and handicraft products in the border areas of both countries, promoting the upgrading and expansion of border trade”.

The Beijing-Pyongyang service was first established in 1954, amid post-Korean War reconstruction. In its 4 June 1954 edition, the People’s Daily explained – in language closely echoing that of Xinhua’s 2026 reporting – the service would “further enhance the friendship between the people of China and North Korea, promote economic cooperation and cultural exchanges between the two countries, and further develop mutual and economic cooperation”.

Continuity may also be found in the reporting of operational preparedness and staff selection. To ensure smooth operation in 1954, the PRC’s Ministry of Railways transferred nine ethnically Korean train attendants from the Tumen region. They attended a training course organised by the Beijing Railway Administration, where they learned about joint transport regulations and related business, again echoing recent reporting.

According to China Railway, ahead of the resumption of the service last month, railway departments from both countries “strengthened inspections of rolling stock”, while crew, selected for their “international railway experience and comprehensive business capabilities”, completed additional training, and “made full preparations to provide passengers with a good cross-border travel experience”.

On-Off Beijing-Pyongyang Air China Service

On 30 March, Air China in turn resumed its Beijing-Pyongyang connection with the arrival of flight CA121 at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, the carrier’s first service on the route since the COVID-induced suspension of passenger flights in 2020.

Again, Ambassador Wang welcomed the flight in Pyongyang as a “landmark event in China-North Korea air transport cooperation”. The Chinese Embassy stated that restoration of the service would inject “new momentum into promoting personnel exchanges, economic and trade cooperation, and cultural exchanges” between the two countries.

“At this point, road, rail, and air transport between China and North Korea have been fully restored,” noted the Embassy.

The resumption of the Air-China service comes three years after the DPRK’s flagship airline, Air Koryo, restarted China bound passenger flights, with the carrier currently operating biweekly services to Beijing and Shenyang.

However, Rowan Beard, co-founder of Beijing-based tour company Young Pioneer Tours, told Sino-NK on 2 April that “services have since been paused again, due to low demand and uncertainty…[with Air China] essentially waiting for a green light on tourism”.

By 25 March, flights to Pyongyang scheduled for after 30 March were no longer visible on Air China’s online booking service. However, as of 14 April, the service has reappeared, with weekly departures to the North Korean capital again scheduled every Monday.

Simon Cockerell, general manager of Beijing-based Koryo Tours, told Sino-NK that Air Koryo services have been able to operate with less uncertainty, largely because the DPRK’s flag carrier transports North Koreans working in China who frequently return to Pyongyang for visa-related matters.

Chinese Tourism to resume to the DPRK?

Chinese tourists visit Sinuiju before the Covid-19 pandemic. | Image: Sino-NK.

Chinese tour agencies have interpreted the recent resumption of transport links as a signal the DPRK is reopen to Chinese tourists, and began advertising DPRK-bound tours.

A day after the resumption of the Beijing-Pyongyang train service, Changsha Evening News announced the launch of a nine-day tour to the DPRK, including Pyongyang and Kaesong, with a train from Changsha to Shenyang to meet the Beijing service to the North Korean capital. Prices were advertised from CNY 5,280 (USD 773) per person. Some tours advertised as starting as soon as late April.

However, a report on Traveldaily.cn stated that many advertised tours were responding to news of resumption of the Beijing-Pyongyang train, adding that such advertisements may be premature given DPRK tourist visas were still not available last month.

Koryo Tour’s Cockerell described the newly advertised Chinese tours as “more opportunism than optimism, because there is no news from North Korea that tourism is about to resume”.

He added: “That the train has resumed, and therefore tourism must resume, doesn’t actually carry any water. The train has existed for decades, and that train ran when there were no tourists, when there were lots of tourists, and when there were hardly any tourists.”

On a potential reopening timeline, Beard of YPT told Sino-NK: “From what I’ve heard from my North Korean contacts, there is a strong possibility that Chinese tourism could resume as early as this summer.”

“The transport links are a necessary foundation, but not sufficient on their own. At this stage, the decision to reopen tourism, whether for Chinese or Western visitors, rests entirely with North Korea,” he added.

Prior to the global pandemic, about 350,000 Chinese tourists visited the DPRK annually, representing about 90 percent of all foreign visitors to the country in 2019.

Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone

PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Wang Yajun tours the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone on 14 February, 2026. | Image: Embassy of the PRC in the DPRK.

In a further sign North Korea may soon again welcome Chinese tourists, on 14 February, PRC Ambassador Wang led an Embassy delegation to the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone at the invitation of the DPRK’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As reported by Sino-NK, Kalma opened to local and Russian tourists last Summer, with foreigner visitors from other countries, including China, still yet to visit.

According to the Chinese Embassy, the ambassador expressed his “belief and expectation” the area will “attract more and more domestic and international tourists, including those from China”.

Last June, Wang took a similar tour of the Paektusan Sports Village Ski Resort in Samjiyon, Ryanggang Province. A pre-pandemic tourism hub, Samjiyon likewise remains closed to Chinese tourists.

China-DPRK New Year Events

February witnessed a flurry of diplomatic interaction for the celebration of the Chinese New Year, and saw DPRK Ambassador to the PRC Ri Ryong-nam give his first interview to PRC state media since assuming the post in 2021. Interviews with DPRK officials remain exceedingly rare, even in China.

Speaking to Phoenix Satellite Television at the Chinese MOFA New Year’s reception in Beijing on 5 February 2026, Ri said that “under the guidance of the leaders of the two countriescountries, I believe there will definitely be good development [in the New Year].”

Asked whether “there will definitely be a lot of high-level exchanges” between China and the DPRK during the Year of the Horse”, Ri gave little away: “Dialogue between the two countries will advance normally,” he said.

Ri’s presence at the event was not explicitly mentioned in official reporting by China’s MOFA, although a photo published by the foreign ministryshowed the DPRK ambassador speaking with PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi, less than two months before the latter’s recent trip to Pyongyang.

On 14 February, while visiting the Wonsan-Kalma resort, Ambassador Wang led Chinese diplomats and their families in attending a New Year gathering held by North Korea’s MOFA. The event marked the first DPRK foreign ministry-led celebrations of the Spring Festival since 2019, when DPRK Premier Pak Pong-ju attended proceedings during then warming China-DPRK relations amid the rapid series of Xi-Kim summits which began the previous year.

Both Wang and DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-ho delivered speeches at this year’s event, with the former expressing the PRC’s willingness “to work together with our North Korean comrades, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to propel friendly and cooperative relations between Chinaand the DPRK to new heights, like a galloping horse”.

In Pyongyang, the Chinese Embassy held its own reception on 12 February at which Pak was again present, alongside vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK, Kang Yun-sok. Kang was the highest ranking North Korean official at this year’s Spring Festival events in the DPRK, continuing his presence following the resumption of large-scale embassy New Year celebrations in 2024. Speaking at the event, Wang referenced last year’s meeting between Xi and Kim, restating that China remained willing to work with the DPRK to build bilateral and multilateral cooperation to “safeguard regional peace and stability”.

That China-DPRK relations would remain a priority in spite of international flux was also emphasised by Vice Chairman Kang, who said the DPRK is “willing to work with our Chinese comrades, following the sublime will of the highest leaders of both countries, to make joint efforts toward the continuous deepening and development of friendly and cooperative DPRK-China relations”.

In Beijing, Peng Qinghua, vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the PRC’s National People’s Congress, attended an event held by the DPRK Embassy on 13 February. A KCNA report stated that “guests toasted to the health of their beloved comrades Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping, and wished that DPRK-China friendly and cooperative relations continued to deepen and develop”.