The North's leader met Song several times during his stay in the North in a sign of a thaw in the two nations' strained ties, following Kim's surprise visit to China last month.

Kim met with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of his planned summits with South Korea and the United States. They reaffirmed strengthening the traditional relations that had been frayed over North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations.

Song, the head of the international department at the Central Committee of the Communist Party, arrived in Pyongyang on Friday, leading the Chinese art troupe as part of cultural exchange programs.

Kim expressed hope that Pyongyang and Beijing will continue to make efforts to develop their ties "at a fresh high level" on the basis of their traditional friendship, the KCNA said.

At a dinner, Kim and his wife Ri Sol-ju "exchanged warm farewell greetings" with Song and Chinese artists, the KCNA said in a separate dispatch. Song also expressed "deep thanks to Kim Jong-un for having accorded special and exceptional hospitality during their visit to Pyongyang," it added.

Beijing, North Korea's key ally and economic benefactor, had been angry over the North's repeated nuclear and missile provocations and joined international sanctions in pressing North Korea.

But a change in the political landscape ahead of North Korea's planned summits with Seoul and Washington has prompted them to seek to restore their relations.

Kim's trip to China was seen as intended to secure more bargaining chips ahead of his planned meetings with President Moon Jae-in on April 27 and with US President Donald Trump in May or July. For China, the Xi-Kim summit apparently helped highlight Beijing's leverage over the North in resolving the North's nuclear standoff. (Yonhap)