Pyongyang rolls out the red carpet as Xi Jinping is welcomed with pomp and ceremony

China’s President Xi Jinping received a colourful welcome in Pyongyang as he began his two-day state visit to North Korea, his first in seven years. After landing at the airport, where Xi and first lady Peng Liyuan were welcomed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju with a handshake, the Chinese leader was escorted through the streets of Pyongyang by a nine-column motorcade to Kim Il-sung Square, the capital’s primary venue for parades and political events