Chinese state media highlights Kim Il-sung Square, Arc of Triumph, stadium as key landmarks; 250,000 people turned out to welcome Xi during his 2019 visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ahead of their summit talks in Pyongyang on June 20, 2019. [Yonhap]
Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ahead of their summit talks in Pyongyang on June 20, 2019. [Yonhap]

As Chinese President Xi Jinping visits North Korea on Monday for the first time in seven years, Pyongyang has been decked out with portraits of Xi and rows of Chinese and North Korean flags along its streets in preparation for the state visit.

Chinese state media outlets including People's Daily and Xinhua released short video clips on social media showing scenes from Pyongyang on Sunday, a day before Xi's arrival.

The footage shows a large portrait of Xi installed on a median strip along a main boulevard, with oversized Chinese and North Korean flags hanging in rows on both sides of the road and smaller flags strung above.

Buildings expected to host bilateral events were adorned with slogans in Chinese and hangul reading "Sino-Korean friendship," "Long live the invincible unity of Sino-Korean friendship" and "Warmly welcome Comrade Xi Jinping."

"To welcome President Xi, the streets are already lined with the national flags of both countries," People's Daily said, adding that it was looking forward to Xi's first overseas trip this year.

During Xi's previous visit to Pyongyang in June 2019, Kim Jong-un went to the airport in person to receive him, with welcome banners on display and nearly 10,000 people waving bouquets and chanting greetings.

Xi then left the airport under motorcycle escort and traveled to Kumsusan Palace of the Sun Square in central Pyongyang, where some 250,000 people lined the streets waving flags and flowers and shouting "Sino-Korean friendship" slogans. Xi switched to an open-top car with Kim for the stretch along Ryomyong Street in the city center, and tens of thousands of balloons were released into the sky at Kumsusan Palace of the Sun Square upon his arrival.

Given North Korea's preparations, observers expect a large-scale motorcade from the airport to the city center during this visit as well.

Kim Il-sung Square has been mentioned as the likely venue for the official welcoming ceremony. Xinhua released a separate video showing its journalists traveling from Dandong in China's Liaoning Province to Pyongyang aboard the international train service between the two countries, which resumed service this year. The agency also highlighted Pyongyang landmarks including Kim Il-sung Square, the Arc of Triumph and the May Day Stadium, saying the sites "have witnessed countless passionate and moving moments." Showing the Sino-Korean Friendship Tower, it added that "the memory of history has not faded" and that "the Sino-Korean friendship passed down through generations carries a warm and enduring strength."

These sites are among the locations Xi is expected to visit during his one-night, two-day stay in North Korea.


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