Xi arrives in North Korea for talks with Kim

June 8, 2026

1–2 minutes

Summary

Xi began a rare visit to Pyongyang for talks with Kim as China, North Korea navigate regional tensions and nuclear diplomacy.

Why this matters

The visit highlights China’s role in North Korea’s economy, diplomacy, and nuclear negotiations. It could shape regional security and future U.S.-North Korea diplomacy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday for a two-day state visit and expected talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in a closely watched meeting as both countries face separate tensions with the United States.

China’s Xinhua News Agency said Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, welcomed Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at Pyongyang’s international airport.

He was expected to hold a summit with Kim in their first meeting since September, when they met in Beijing after attending a military parade with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.

No agenda was announced.

China has long been North Korea’s main economic partner and diplomatic supporter. Analysts say Beijing has not fully enforced U.N. sanctions on North Korea. This year marks 65 years since the countries signed a mutual defense treaty.

In an article published Monday in Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s main newspaper, Xi said the two countries should strengthen strategic cooperation, oppose “hegemonism and coercive politics,” and pursue a multipolar world.

The visit came after Xi’s meetings last month in Beijing with President Donald Trump and Putin. The White House said Trump and Xi reaffirmed a shared goal of denuclearizing North Korea, while China said only that they discussed the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. On Sunday, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, called the U.S. account “false information.”

North Korea has expanded weapons development since Kim’s diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. Last week, Kim unveiled a plant to produce nuclear materials and called for expanding the country’s nuclear forces. On Sunday, Kim Yo Jong called U.S. calls for denuclearization an “escapist and anachronistic dream.”

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He suffered injuries to his hand and thigh when the gun discharged.

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A Port Royal police sergeant was recovering after being injured in an accidental firearm discharge at the Port Royal Police Department on Thursday afternoon.

Staff Sgt. Steven Colson was injured about 2 p.m. June 4 while cleaning his department-issued pistol at police headquarters, according to a department release.

The bullet struck Colson in his left hand before entering his left leg near the knee. Officers inside the building heard the gunshot and responded, calling Beaufort County Emergency Medical Services and the Port Royal Fire Department.

Meyers described the incident as a “very, very unfortunate accident.” He said Colson was later transferred to the Medical University of South Carolina and was expected to be released over the weekend.

Colson is a staff sergeant with the department and a military veteran. He has worked for the Port Royal Police Department for about 10 to 11 years.
Asia

Xi arrives in North Korea for talks with Kim

The trip was Xi’s first visit to North Korea in seven years.

Full story +

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday for a two-day state visit and expected talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in a closely watched meeting as both countries face separate tensions with the United States.

China’s Xinhua News Agency said Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, welcomed Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at Pyongyang’s international airport.

He was expected to hold a summit with Kim in their first meeting since September, when they met in Beijing after attending a military parade with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.

No agenda was announced.

China has long been North Korea’s main economic partner and diplomatic supporter. Analysts say Beijing has not fully enforced U.N. sanctions on North Korea. This year marks 65 years since the countries signed a mutual defense treaty.

In an article published Monday in Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s main newspaper, Xi said the two countries should strengthen strategic cooperation, oppose “hegemonism and coercive politics,” and pursue a multipolar world.

The visit came after Xi’s meetings last month in Beijing with President Donald Trump and Putin. The White House said Trump and Xi reaffirmed a shared goal of denuclearizing North Korea, while China said only that they discussed the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. On Sunday, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, called the U.S. account “false information.”

North Korea has expanded weapons development since Kim’s diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. Last week, Kim unveiled a plant to produce nuclear materials and called for expanding the country’s nuclear forces. On Sunday, Kim Yo Jong called U.S. calls for denuclearization an “escapist and anachronistic dream.”
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Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that it had installed 822 kilometers, or about 510 miles, of anti-drone protection on frontline roads this year.

The total exceeded the roughly 447-mile drive from Florida’s Georgia border to Key West. The ministry said 211 kilometers, or about 131 miles, were installed in May alone.

“Reliable logistics near the front remains a constant priority. We are systematically working to protect key routes,” the ministry said.

Ukraine’s State Special Transport Service built wooden or metal frames along roads and draped mesh over them to form tunnels that stretched for miles.

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Israel strikes Beirut suburbs after ceasefire talks

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Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, days after Lebanese and Israeli officials meeting in Washington renewed a ceasefire agreement, and despite a U.S. request not to attack Lebanon’s capital.

No casualties were immediately reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strikes were retaliation for fire toward northern Israel that it blamed on the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. It said the targets were “command centers” in the densely populated area.

An Israeli strike hit a residential building near a gas station, damaging four of its seven floors. The Lebanese military cordoned off the area after an unexploded munition was found in the rubble. Ambulances were at the scene, though no bodies or wounded people were immediately seen.

Israel had twice struck Beirut’s southern suburbs since an earlier Lebanon-Israel agreement took effect April 17.

Israel said Monday it would strike the southern suburbs after Hezbollah claimed attacks in northern Israel, but urgent talks through Washington halted the operation on the condition that Hezbollah stop targeting Israeli border towns.

In an interview taped Friday and aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” President Donald Trump said, “I’d like to see Lebanon have a better life. I’d like to see a more surgical attack on Hezbollah. I think it should be more surgical.” He added that he was “not demanding” that Lebanon be included in a short-term deal to extend the ceasefire in the Iran war.

More than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since the war began March 2, according to the report. More than 1 million people have been displaced. The fighting has also killed at least 31 Israeli soldiers and three civilians.
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A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the Philippine island of Mindanao shortly before 7:40 a.m. local time Monday, killing at least 15 people, damaging buildings, and prompting tsunami alerts across Asia.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake occurred at 23:40 GMT Sunday. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the initial quake was followed by more than an hour of aftershocks.

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The body-hugging suit, developed with Houston-based space infrastructure company Axiom Space, has ventilation tubes knitted into the garment.

“We have really a broad spectrum of capability and know-how,” Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada’s chief marketing officer, said at an event at Prada’s Manhattan store, seated beside a mannequin wearing the new Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment.

Expertise for developing space exploration products “can come from lots of seemingly unrelated industries,” said Jonathan Cirtain, chief executive of Axiom Space.

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Luxury brands have long drawn inspiration from space travel, but Prada has gone “beyond inspiration into an actual partnership” as the space exploration and tourism industries develop, said Thomai Serdari, a luxury brand strategist and marketing professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Serdari said Prada’s interest in the space industry reflected two factors: reaching affluent consumers considering space travel, and associating the brand with avant-garde ideas. Companies including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have pursued space tourism aimed at wealthy customers.

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Global shares fell Monday after Wall Street posted its biggest one-day drop since October, while oil prices rose more than $4 as fighting between Israel and Iran intensified.

South Korea’s Kospi led the declines, falling 8.3% on heavy selling in technology shares. Samsung Electronics dropped 10.2%, and SK Hynix fell 7.7%.

Oil prices climbed after Israel launched airstrikes early Monday on central and western Iran following missile fire.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose $4.60 to $97.69 a barrel. U.S. benchmark crude gained $4.13 to $94.67 a barrel.

U.S. stock futures were mixed early Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.2% and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3%.

A strong jobs report raised expectations that the Federal Reserve could increase interest rates this year, adding to concerns about whether the rally in artificial intelligence-related technology shares can continue.

The Dow fell 1.4% Friday, and the Nasdaq composite lost 4.2%.

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According to the department, six civilians were injured: one seriously, two with moderate injuries, and three with minor injuries.

Five patients were taken to Bellevue Hospital, including the person with serious injuries and two with moderate injuries. A sixth patient with minor injuries was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.