Kim Jong- un makes surprise China visit
BEIJING - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has arrived in Beijing for an unannounced visit, at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Kim will be in China until 10 January with his wife Ri Sol- ju, according to state media reports.
The visit comes amid reports that negotiations are under way for a second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump. The two met last June, the first such meeting for a sitting US president.
Speculation had grown on Monday that Kim was possibly making his way to China after South Korea’s Yonhap news reported that a North Korean train had been seen crossing the border.
Dozens of security vehicles and officials blocked roads around the train station in the border town of Dandong.
Hotel guests in Dandong had also not been allowed to enter rooms that faced the border, with news outlet Kyodo calling this an “apparent move to prevent the train from being seen.” Mr Kim’s visit, during which he is being accompanied by several leading North Korean officials, is his fourth to China in less than a year.
China is an important diplomatic ally for North Korea, and one of its main sources of trade and aid. Kim, unusually, did not meet Mr Xi for the first six years of his leadership of North Korea. But last year, he visited China three times. None of the trips was announced in advance. -