SEOUL, South Korea — President Xi Jinping of China will send a top official to North Korea this weekend to attend major national celebrations there, state-controlled media in both countries reported on Tuesday.

Li Zhanshu, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and the head of China’s rubber-stamp Parliament, will lead a delegation to Pyongyang, the capital, on Saturday as Mr. Xi’s special envoy, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said. North Korea plans to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its government on Sunday with large celebrations, including a military parade.

There had been speculation in recent weeks that Mr. Xi might attend the celebrations himself, in what would have been his first visit to North Korea. Mr. Xi has met three times this year with the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, but always in China.

Yang Xiyu, a former senior Chinese official, said Mr. Xi might see little to gain from such a visit.