According to China Central Television on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang by plane around noon to begin a two-day state visit to North Korea.
This marks Xi Jinping's first visit to North Korea in seven years, and also the first meeting between the leaders of China and North Korea since they last met nine months ago during the 80th anniversary commemoration of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War last September.
Footage released by Chinese media shows the Air China jet carrying Xi Jinping arriving at Pyongyang's Sunan Airport, where both North Korean and Chinese flags were flying. Banners with inscriptions in Korean and Chinese such as “Warmly welcome Comrade Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President of the People's Republic of China,” and “Long live the unbreakable friendship and unity between the peoples of North Korea and China” were also displayed. Although Chinese media did not report exactly who came to greet Xi Jinping, based on the customs of exchanges between Chinese and North Korean leaders, it is likely that North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un came to Sunan Airport in Pyongyang to welcome Xi and his delegation.
It is expected that Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un will proceed together to Kim Il Sung Square to attend a welcoming ceremony and hold talks, during which they may discuss the development of China-North Korea relations, expanding economic and trade cooperation, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, among other topics.