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PATRIOTIC SONGS
Xi and first lady Peng Liyuan attended a performance of Chinese and North Korean songs, accompanied by Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, along with high-ranking officials.
The songs highlighted "the value and closeness of DPRK-China friendship," KCNA said, referring to the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Kim also hosted a banquet for Xi and his delegation, at which Xi voiced his desire to "share friendship" with Kim, the news agency said.
Chinese-North Korean relations had reached a "new historical starting point," Xi said at the event marking the 65th anniversary of the neighbours' friendship treaty, KCNA added.
Xi vowed that Beijing would not swerve from its commitment to safeguard common interests, Xinhua said on Monday.
But North Korean media did not say if Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme or relations with the United States figured in the talks.
The absence of such mentions suggests Beijing would like the visit cast in terms of the ties between the two countries, said Ja Ian Chong, a political science professor at the National University of Singapore.
During his first term, US President Donald Trump met Kim three times before the unprecedented diplomatic effort broke down over US demands for North Korea to give up nuclear weapons. Trump has said he would be willing to restart talks.
"While it is highly likely that the leaders of China and North Korea would confer before Kim might meet Trump again, it is doubtful that Xi will serve as a catalyst for US-North Korea talks," said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
Xi is set to return to China on Tuesday afternoon, the Yonhap news agency said.
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