North Korea’s Kim on ‘unofficial’ visit to China

Beijing — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited China for an unofficial visit this week, Chinese and North Korean state media confirmed today.

This is believed to be Kim’s first trip abroad as leader since he came to power in 2011. It came in the run-up to summits with leaders from South Korea and the United States.

North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, made an “unofficial” visit from March 25 to 28 at the invitation of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.

Kim traveled with all his top aides, including Choe Ryong Hae, often called the number two leader of North Korea and head of the powerful Organization and Guidance Department, and Ri Su Yong, the former ambassador to Switzerland and foreign minister, who is a top official in the Politburo, KCNA said.

This week, the Chinese capital had been gripped by a mystery regarding an armored train that had chugged into Beijing Station on tight security on Monday.

Passengers disembarked and boarded limos. After nightfall, a motorcade drove to a state guesthouse where foreign dignitaries often stay.

But for days, Chinese officials and media and the South Korean government were quiet.

Chinese netizens looking for answers hit a wall. On Tuesday, three of the top 10 blocked terms on Weibo, a microblogging site, were “Kim Jong Un,” “North Korea” and “Fatty the third,” a popular Chinese nickname for Kim, according to freeweibo.com, a website that tracks censorship.

Chinese experts said a visit by a senior North Korean leader before the meetings with Moon and President Donald Trump made sense.

“At a possibly historic moment, before the start of a dramatic play on the Korean Peninsula, China was losing the spotlight,” said Cheng Xiaohe, a North Korea expert at Beijing’s Renmin University. A visit would restore Beijing’s leading role, he reasoned.