President Xi Jinping pledged Monday to strengthen bilateral relations between China and North Korea and bring ties to "new heights."
Xi made the pledge at a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he kicked off his first trip to Pyongyang since 2019 and it comes after the Chinese leader hosted a series of world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, in Beijing.
Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were warmly greeted at the airport by Kim in a lavish welcome ceremony complete with a red-carpet military salute and cheering crowds, according to Chinese state media.
Some streets in the capital also displayed North Korean and Chinese flags side by side.
Kim, whose country has been historically reliant on China, has drawn closer to Moscow in recent years while expanding his country's nuclear weapons program.
