Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) from June 20 to 21 at the invitation of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un. 

It is the first visit by a Chinese president in 14 years.

The meetings between the two leaders over the past year have "opened a new chapter for China-DPRK relations," Song Tao, the minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC), told reporters on Monday.

In the upcoming visit, "the two sides will further exchange views on the Korean Peninsula situation in the hope of achieving progress in promoting the political settlement of the issue," Song added.

The timing of Xi's visit to Pyongyang is likely to raise eyebrows at the White House, as U.S.-DPRK nuclear talks stalled after the breakdown in the Hanoi summit in February.

Zheng Jiyong, director of the Center for Korean Studies at Fudan University, explained the timing of Chinese President Xi Jinping's first visit to Pyongyang through a People's Daily social media account. Here are three takeaways:

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Graphic: Chinese leaders in DPRK, DPRK leaders in China

The announcement made by Chinese officials broke the news on Monday evening. 

Kim has traveled to China four times in the past year to meet Xi, but Xi had yet to reciprocate until now. The timing is significant for the China-DPRK ties, Zheng said, as the bilateral relations are at a high level and the visit shows the two countries are maintaining regular strategic communications.

It is also a critical moment for the DPRK issue, Zheng said, as the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula has to be pushed forward with strong impetus. China wants to show the world that it is taking responsibility on the DPRK issue and on world and regional peace and stability, he added.

The denuclearization issue tops the agenda, Zheng said. It is important to make sure that relevant parties, including the DPRK, are determined to achieve the denuclearization, and that they want to resolve the issue through dialogue and political resolution.

China tries to narrow the gap between relevant parties in order to push for the denuclearizing process, Zheng said.

Given the U.S.-DPRK deadlock, China will play a positive role in resuming the talks and provide some new ideas, he added.

Zheng said the two countries are also likely to discuss cooperation ranging from economic and trade cooperation to education and from culture to tourism.

In response to President Xi's visit, a White House official told Yonhap on Monday that the U.S. is to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK as agreed to by Chairman Kim. The world is focused on Chairman Kim's commitment to denuclearization, the official said.

No working-level talks have taken place since Trump and Kim abruptly ended their summit in Hanoi without an agreement.

Zheng said Kim wants to resolve the current stalemate in denuclearization talks. It is one of the reasons he wrote Trump a letter last week.

Pyongyang has made certain denuclearizing efforts such as destroying nuclear sites, which also shows his intention to seek a political resolution.

The DPRK wants such efforts to be recognized by the U.S. side, he added.

The Trump administration is shifting its focus away from the DPRK issue, he said, but Trump still intends to use the DPRK issue as a form of leverage in his 2020 re-election campaign.