SPECULATION about a visit to Beijing by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is running high amid talk of preparations for a meeting between the North’s reclusive leader and US President Donald Trump.
The visit of a special train to Beijing and unusually heavy security at a guesthouse where prominent North Koreans have stayed in the past have fuelled talk that Kim was making his first visit to China as the North’s leader.
Such a trip would be seen as a potential precursor to Kim’s planned summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April and his anticipated meeting with President Trump by May.
Analysts, however, questioned whether Kim would make the visit to Beijing himself rather than send an envoy.
Whoever was on the train, their visit to Beijing appeared to be short.Yesterday afternoon, a vehicle convoy led by a motorcycle escort headed back in the direction of Beijing’s main railway station.
While there has been no word of a meeting with Chinese leaders, China has been one of North Korea’s most important allies even though relations have chilled recently because of Kim’s development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
On Monday, heavy security was reported at the Friendship Bridge on the Yalu River marking the border between China and North Korea before a train passed.
There were reports of it transiting several stations on the way from North Korea to Beijing.
The green and yellow train appeared very similar to the one that Kim’s father and predecessor as North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Il, took to Beijing in 2011.
Video that aired on NTV also showed a motorcade of black limousines waiting at the train station and rows of Chinese soldiers marching on what appeared to be a train platform. The video did not show anyone getting off the train.
At around 2:45pm local time yesterday, a convoy of about a dozen cars, including a large black limousine, was seen heading in the direction of the railway station.
The limousine was seen about 10 minutes later entering the station under a heavy security presence. The station itself was closed to the public in an unusual security measure.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked whether Kim or another North Korean official was visiting Beijing, said, “I know you’re all very curious but I have no information on that.”
Past visits by Kim Jong Il to China were surrounded in secrecy, with Beijing only confirming his presence after he had crossed the border by train back into North Korea.
The speculation had been fuelled further on Monday evening when a vehicle convoy entered the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing and a military honour guard and heavy security were seen later.
The guesthouse had been the favoured residence of Kim Jong Il during his visits to Beijing.
Yesterday, a convoy of official Chinese cars was seen leaving the guesthouse’s east gate.
Since succeeding his father as leader in 2011, Kim has touted an image of his country as diplomatic equal to China and it is unlikely he would sneak into Beijing for his first face-to-face meetings with the Chinese leadership, analysts said.
They said it is more likely that Kim sent a special envoy, possibly his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, to appease a traditional ally ahead of his planned meetings with the presidents of South Korea and the United States.
The envoy could potentially seek Chinese commitment for future support should North Korea’s talks with rivals fall through, said Du Hyeogn Cha, a visiting scholar at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
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