▲ This image, captured from a broadcast from China's CCTV, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (front, R) and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, applauding during the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang on June 8, 2026. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un prior to their summit talks in Pyongyang on June 20, 2019, in this image captured from footage of China's CCTV. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ The national flags of China and North Korea flutter along a street in Pyongyang, in this image captured from a video posted on the People's Daily's social media page on June 7, 2026. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ The national flags of China and North Korea and a portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping are on display on a street in Pyongyang, in this image captured from a video posted on the People's Daily's social media page on June 7, 2026. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(6th LD) Xi-NK visit

(6th LD) N. Korea's Kim, Xi begin summit in Pyongyang: Chinese media

(ATTN: REWRITES headline, lead, paras 2-3)

SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un began his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang on Monday, Chinese state media reported, as the two leaders were expected to discuss a wide range of issues, including economic exchanges and inter-Korean affairs.

China's People's Daily reported that Kim and Xi were holding the summit as of 6:05 p.m. (Korea time) at the Kumsusan State Guest House in Pyongyang.

Xi arrived in North Korea on Monday, with Kim making a rare public appearance at the airport to personally welcome the Chinese president, who is on a two-day state visit marking his first trip to Pyongyang in nearly seven years.

Xi landed in Pyongyang earlier in the day at the invitation of Kim, China's Xinhua News Agency reported. He was accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan, as well as Cai Qi, director of the general office of the Communist Party's central committee, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

News footage aired by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, personally welcoming Xi and Peng at the airport in Pyongyang.

The two leaders shook hands after Xi descended from the aircraft, while North Korean children presented bouquets to the Chinese president and his wife.

A red carpet had been laid out at the airport ahead of Xi's arrival, and large national flags of North Korea and China were displayed on the terminal building, according to earlier reports.

According to Xinhua, Xi later attended a welcome ceremony held at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, where the North Korean military welcomed the Chinese leader with a 21-gun salute while a band played the national anthems of North Korea and China.

Accompanied by Kim, Xi inspected the honor guards of Pyongyang's three armed services, the report said. Following the ceremony, the Chinese first couple was moved to the Kumsusan State Guest House, with North Korean people lined up on both sides of the road waving to welcome them.

Talks were expected to follow later in the day, likely covering a wide range of issues, such as economic ties and Korean Peninsula issues, as well as ways to coordinate among Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow.

Across Pyongyang, portraits of Xi and flags of both nations lined the streets in preparation for the visit, according to Chinese media reports. Banners in Korean and Chinese celebrating the two countries' traditional friendship were also on display throughout the capital.

In a separate dispatch, Xinhua News Agency unveiled footage of a group of reporters traveling to Pyongyang from Dandong in China's Liaoning Province on a train that resumed service earlier in the year.

Xi last traveled to Pyongyang on June 20-21, 2019, his first state visit to Pyongyang since taking office in late 2012.

The two leaders most recently met in September, when Kim traveled to Beijing for China's Victory Day celebrations, standing alongside Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a military parade.

Kim has made five trips to Beijing to meet Xi since coming to power after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in December 2011.

Xi's upcoming North Korea trip carries symbolic weight. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Pyongyang and Beijing, giving both sides added reasons to reaffirm their alliance and deepen economic ties.

The occasion also comes amid growing ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. Last month, North Korean troops marched for the first time alongside Russian forces in Moscow's Victory Day parade, which commemorates the Soviet Union's victory over Germany in World War II.

Pyongyang, meanwhile, has made no effort to soften its military posture ahead of Xi's arrival.

On Sunday, Kim's sister Kim Yo-Jong declared the country's nuclear status absolutely irreversible, calling it a "line of no retreat."

Last week, the North Korean leader inspected what Pyongyang described as a newly launched nuclear materials production facility, vowing to exponentially expand the country's arsenal. Kim also watched a naval destroyer's navigation test and called for strengthening the country's nuclear deterrent.

For Beijing, the visit could serve as a chance to reaffirm its influence over the Korean Peninsula. It follows Xi's separate summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin in Beijing last month, and his attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea in October.

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