North Korea Holds Xi Welcome Ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square

With Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting North Korea for the first time in seven years, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held an official welcome ceremony at Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.

According to Xinhua, large portraits of Kim and Xi hung in the center of Kim Il Sung Square, flanked by slogans such as "Long Live North Korea-China Friendship."

The ceremony was attended by Xi's wife, Peng Liyuan, who accompanied him on the visit; Cai Qi, secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and a Politburo Standing Committee member who serves as Xi's de facto chief of staff; and Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission and head of China's diplomatic line. When Xi and his wife arrived by vehicle, Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, greeted them at the square. Earlier, the Kim couple had personally welcomed Xi and his wife the moment they arrived at Pyongyang's Sunan International Airport aboard their official aircraft.

After a 21-gun salute by the military band concluded, the crowd gathered at the square along with children's union members waved flags and flowers and chanted slogans wishing for friendly relations between North Korea and China, Xinhua reported. Xi and Kim walked along the red carpet, waving to the crowd.

After the ceremony, Xi and his wife traveled by vehicle to their lodging at the Kumsusan Guesthouse. The Kim couple personally escorted Xi and his wife to their accommodations, treating them courteously. The Kumsusan Guesthouse is North Korea's representative state guest lodging. Xi stayed there during his last visit to North Korea in 2019, and it was also recently used as lodging for the visits of the Russian and Belarusian presidents.

'Supportive Diplomacy' Peng Liyuan, 'Absolute Trust' Cai Qi… Profiles of the Visiting Delegation

A notable point is that Peng, who does not frequently accompany overseas tour schedules, joined Xi on this visit to North Korea. Peng did not accompany Xi on his visit to South Korea in late October last year. However, Peng was also present when Xi visited North Korea in 2019.

Peng is a national singer of China and a major general in the People's Liberation Army, holding a solid position within China. Having debuted at age 18 as a member of a song-and-dance troupe affiliated with the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, Peng enjoyed great popularity even before marrying Xi. Her signature song is "On the Plains of Hope (在希望的田野上)," released in the early 1980s.

Because of this background, Peng's "soft diplomacy" as first lady has drawn attention. She has played a role in softening China's external image, including serving as a UNESCO Special Envoy for the Advancement of Girls' and Women's Education since March 2014. However, Peng is also a figure who refrains from frequent media exposure and mostly appears in meticulously staged forms at national and diplomatic events, carrying a mystique-laden image.

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, analyzed that "Peng Liyuan's charitable activities and soft diplomacy complement the role of Xi Jinping, an authoritarian leader who at times wields ruthless statecraft on domestic and international stages." Analysts say that because Peng's role draws on the Western first lady model, her frequency of accompaniment surges sharply at major summits such as the Group of 20 (G20) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), or at moments requiring political performance. Peng's visit to North Korea, a key ally, appears to have been made under such calculations.

Cai Qi, dubbed "Xi Jinping's man," is a figure positioned at the core of power. He is a member of the top leadership (Politburo Standing Committee), ranked fifth in the party, while concurrently serving as director of the General Office, akin to Xi's chief of staff, and as secretary of the Central Secretariat overseeing the party's ideological work.

During Xi's 2019 visit to North Korea, instead of Cai—then serving as Beijing party secretary—Ding Xuexiang, who was then director of the Communist Party's General Office, and Yang Jiechi, a Politburo member in charge of diplomacy, visited Pyongyang. Compared with former director Ding Xuexiang, who was a Politburo member (now executive vice premier of the State Council), the accompaniment of Cai—a Politburo Standing Committee member and the party's top power broker—on this visit shows that the weight of the entourage has been elevated significantly.

Cai is also a close aide who worked with Xi from his days as a local official in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. On the 5th, he attended the graduation ceremony of the 2026 spring semester at the Central Party School in his capacity as principal. The Central Party School is a key institution that trains senior Chinese Communist Party cadres, and both Xi and former President Hu Jintao served as its principal before rising to top leadership.

Jean-Christopher Mittelstaedt, a professor of Chinese studies at the University of Zurich, told Reuters that "with this appointment, Cai has integrated the party's organizational, ideological and administrative functions," adding that "there appears to be no precedent for this in the past." However, Cai, who is 70 years old, is unlikely to become Xi's successor. Still, Mittelstaedt emphasized Cai's standing within the party, saying "Xi could not show more trust than this."