Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were greeted by Kim and his wife, Ri Solju, at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport upon their arrival.

Under Chinese and DPRK national flags and large welcome banners, nearly 10,000 people lined up at the airport, waving flowers and chanting cheerful slogans to greet the Chinese guests.

Following a grand welcoming ceremony complete with a 21-gun salute, Xi headed to the square of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where he became the first foreign leader to receive a salute at the highly symbolic site. Hundreds of thousands of people lined up along the road from the airport, waving flags and flowers and chanting "Long Live the China-DPRK Friendship" and other slogans to welcome Xi.

Xinhua contributed to this story