Chinese President Xi Jinping has assured North Korean leader Kim Jong Un of his country's continued support, as he began a two-day state visit to North Korea on Monday.
China will uphold its traditional friendship and support Kim in steering North Korea’s socialist course "no matter how the international situation changes," Xi was quoted as saying by state news agency Xinhua during talks in Pyongyang.
Xi, 72, also held out the prospect of closer cooperation in areas such as the economy, trade and science. Kim described relations between the two countries as "unbreakable," according to Xinhua.
Images published by Chinese state news agency Xinhua earlier on Monday showed Xi's plane touching down in Pyongyang.
Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, welcomed the Chinese president and his wife Peng Liyuan on the tarmac, with the two leaders warmly shaking hands.
This was followed by a grand welcome ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square, attended by thousands of people - including dozens of children who cheered for the heads of state.
Accompanied by a motorcycle escort, the Chinese motorcade also drove through Pyongyang's triumphal arch.
It is Xi's first visit to the internationally isolated neighbouring country in about seven years. Xi and Kim have meet six times in the past.
Ahead of his visit to North Korea, Xi spoke of “new opportunities for development” for the two neighbouring countries in an op-ed for the North Korean party newspaper Rodong Sinmun.
At the same time, the Chinese leader spoke out against “hegemony and power politics” - terms Beijing often uses to take aim at the United States without explicitly naming it in this context.
China is regarded as North Korea’s most important political and economic partner.
On the eve of the state visit, North Korea once again rejected diplomatic efforts aimed at its nuclear disarmament.
Kim Yo Jong, Kim's politically influential sister, described North Korea’s status as a nuclear-armed state as an “irreversible reality - regardless of whether others recognize it or not.”
North Korea has recently significantly expanded its ties with Russia. Since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Pyongyang has not only supplied large quantities of ammunition and artillery shells to Moscow but has also deployed up to 15,000 soldiers to support Russian forces.
