Kim Jong Un consults Xi Jinping on N-plan

Beijing: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that he is committed to denuclearisation as the dictator made a secret trip to China ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump.

After two days of speculation, China and North Korea confirmed that Kim had travelled to Beijing to meet Xi. Kim paid a four-day “unofficial visit” to Beijing from Sunday to Wednesday — his first journey abroad since taking power and his first reported meeting with a foreign head of state — at the invitation of Xi. The state media confirmed the visit only after Kim had returned to North Korea.

The confirmation of the visit ended speculation about Kim’s trip after Japanese media spotted a green train, similar to the one used by Kim’s father, arriving in Beijing on Monday and departing the following day.

Though Chinese officials had refused to confirm Kim’s presence, there were also reports about heavy security on the China-North Korea border and later at a a guesthouse where prominent North Koreans have stayed in the past.

The Chinese leader said he was willing to maintain frequent contact with Kim “under the new circumstances”. Kim was quoted as saying that his country wants to transform ties with South Korea into “a relationship of reconciliation and cooperation.”