President Xi Jinping wraps up 2-day trip to North Korea

President Xi Jinping is concluding his two-day tour in North Korea in which he and Kim Jong Un agreed to expand cooperation in the areas of politics, economy, technology and culture to open a new chapter of bilateral ties.

Boarding his flight back to Beijing, President Xi Jinping concludes his two-day state visit to North Korea where he sat down for talks with its leader Kim Jong Un.

The leaders spent the second day of Xi's trip visiting the Sino-Korean Friendship Tower, observing a moment of silence for the Chinese soldiers who died in the Korean War in the 1950s.

They also dropped by Pyongyang's top cadre school where they planted a fir tree together, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Xinhua reports Xi as saying at an evening banquet that the two nations, "linked by mountains and rivers with a shared common future," have seen their traditional friendship passed down across generations and grow ever stronger through the test of the evolving international landscape.

Xi states he and Kim have reached important consensus on further advancing ties, with pledges to "grasp the trend of the times," strengthen strategic communication and people-to-people bonds, and jointly open up brighter prospects for their socialist cause.

During a summit late on Monday, Xi points out he's ready to work with Kim to take this as an opportunity to boost top-level planning and strategic planning, as he urged both sides to make positive contributions to regional peace and stability.

He further underscores the need to firmly safeguard the countries' respective sovereignty and security interests.

Kim, for his part, says he views Xi's choice of the DPRK as a destination for his first overseas visit of the year as a testament to their unbreakable relations, and vowed to maintain the friendship as Pyongyang's "most important top-priority strategic work". Kim also reaffirms support for Beijing's "one China principle" regardless of changes in the international situation.

The official Korean Central News Agency reports the two sides have reached broad agreement on strengthening strategic coordination to safeguard their shared interests following discussions on a range of international and regional issues.

China remains North Korea's largest trading partner and main diplomatic backer in the face of international sanctions over its nuclear arsenal developments.