Chinese Foreign Minister to Visit North Korea

JAKARTA - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit North Korea on April 9-10, 2026 at the invitation of Pyongyang.

"The upcoming visit of Foreign Minister Wang Yi is an important step for both countries to act on the common understanding between the highest leaders of the two parties and the two countries and to promote the development of China-North Korea relations," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning at a press conference in Beijing, Wednesday, April 8.

China and North Korea, according to Mao Ning, are traditional friends and neighbors connected by mountains and rivers.

"It is the firm strategic policy of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Government to maintain, strengthen, and develop China-North Korea relations," added Mao Ning.

Mao Ning said China is ready to work with North Korea to improve strategic communication, increase exchanges and cooperation, and further advance the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

The visit marks Wang Yi's first trip to North Korea since September 2019 and is expected to include a meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.

The two last held talks in Beijing in September 2025.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi is also likely to pay a courtesy visit to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The visit was made after on March 30, 2026, the national airline of China, Air China, reopened the Beijing-Pyongyang flight route after the last flight in the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

North Korean airline Air Koryo resumed flights between the two capitals in 2023 with twice-weekly flights on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

North Korea is known to have banned all foreign tourists during the pandemic but has begun to loosen restrictions including for some groups of Russian tourists starting in 2024 with limited arrangements.

Before closing the flight route, Chinese tour groups accounted for 90 percent of all visitors to North Korea.

Before Air China, China also reactivated the Beijing-Pyongyang passenger train service on March 12, 2026 after a six-year hiatus.

The account of the China Railway company "China Railay" announced that starting March 12, 2026, international passenger trains will again operate in two directions between Beijing and Dandong in China and Pyongyang in North Korea.

The reopening of this route is intended to further encourage the exchange of personnel, economic and trade cooperation, cultural exchange between the two countries, as well as improving the welfare and friendship between the two peoples.

The train with the serial number K27/K28 operates every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

In China, passengers can board or disembark at Beijing Station, Tianjin Station, Shanhaiguan Station, Shenyang Station, and Dandong Station, while in North Korea, stops are available at Pyongyang Station and Sinuiju Station.

The procedures for entering and exiting the border are carried out at the Dandong border post in China and Sinuiju in North Korea.

Currently, tickets for the China-North Korea international passenger train have started to be sold offline at five international ticket sales points in China, namely at Beijing, Tianjin, Shanhaiguan, Shenyang, and Dandong Stations.

The classes available for the Beijing-Pyongyang train are "hard sleeper" and "soft sleeper" with a ticket price of more than 1000 RMB (about Rp2.4 million) per trip.