Kim Jong-un in first foreign trip as North Korean leader
Beijing confirms global speculation that reclusive head of state met with Chinese leaders yesterday WHEN shaky mobile phone footage of a motorcade zooming through the streets of Beijing, it deepened the intrigue surrounding whether a groundbreaking meeting had taken place between North Korea’s Kim Jongun and Chinese leaders.
The motorbike convoy was just one of many clues for amateur detectives, who have this week been scrambling to piece together fragments of information about who is in town and why.
After a dark green armoured train was spotted rolling through Beijing’s suburbs on Monday, the motorcade was later seen heading towards a location where Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, typically hosts foreign dignitaries. Adding to the mystery, Beijing’s already stringent security was notably heightened.
Streets were blocked off by armed guards and police, and Kim-watchers were given further ammunition as Chinese censors cracked down on mentions of Mr Kim and the reported visit from the internet.
The unusual activity all served to boost speculation that Mr Kim was making a secretive visit to the Chinese capital ahead of anticipated talks with Donald Trump. And it was only late last night that the rumours were confirmed – Mr Kim was in Beijing.
“North Korea likely wants to confirm its relationship with China and believes it has some leverage with which it can ask for things from China,” Yoo Ho-yeol, the professor of North Korean studies at Seoul’s Korea University, told Reuters. This marks the first foreign visit by the young North Korean leader and shows that the hermit state is keen to shore up relations with its neighbour.
It came after Japanese media initially reported two days ago that a high-level North Korean official was visiting the capital, although it was still unclear at the time who the special attention was for.
Chinese state media said it was an “unofficial” visit. It comes ahead of a proposed summit with Seoul and Washington. During the visit, Mr Kim held talks with Xi Jinping in Beijing where the Chinese president hosted a banquet to welcome the North Korean and his wife.
The convoy transporting him entered Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guest House on Monday night, and departed just before 11am local time yesterday.
Local security and the paramilitary police stood guard as unidentified men in plainclothes attempted to prevent photographers from taking pictures. The green train was seen leaving Beijing station yesterday afternoon.
The timing of Mr Kim’s visit is fortuitous. He has a summit with Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, scheduled for late April, and the muchtouted meeting with the US president in May.
After relationships thawed following the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Mr Kim will attend a historic summit with South Korean leaders next month to resolve the stand-off over the North’s advancing nuclear programme.
The meeting with the US leader is much less certain, with nerves jangling about their tête-à-tête.
Zhang Liangui, the professor of international strategic research and an adviser on North Korean policy to the Chinese government, told The Daily Telegraph: “The US has pledged to seek a solution to this problem through the
use of force if necessary, which makes it urgent for Kim to adjust his policy. I think he may have come to China to show he has changed his attitude.”
A bishop in China’s underground Catholic Church has reportedly been detained, just as the Vatican has been laying the groundwork for him to step aside. The Asianews agency said that Mindong Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin was taken away on Monday at the start of Holy Week.
‘I think he may have come to China to show he has changed his attitude’