Beijing: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reportedly visited a pharmaceutical factory in China on Wednesday as he seeks economic support from his key ally along with diplomatic backing before his expected summit with Donald Trump.
Kim arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a fourth visit to his country's sole major diplomatic friend, a trip seen as a strategy session ahead of his possible second meeting with the US president on Pyongyang's nuclear programme.
The unannounced trip has been largely shrouded in secrecy. Beyond confirming his presence in Beijing, there has been no detail provided from either the North Korean or Chinese side on his schedule.
The North Korean leader met for one hour with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday - believed to be Kim's birthday - and the two later dined with their wives at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
The meeting focused on Kim's expected meeting with Trump, according to Yonhap.
But Chinese officials also likely want to impress on Kim - who has so far pursued only limited reforms to his statist economy - the benefits the giant Communist country has enjoyed in its transformation from impoverished nation to economic powerhouse.
A motorcade left Beijing's Diaoyutai guest house for foreign dignitaries early Wednesday, with a high police presence and traffic blocked for the convoy. Yonhap reported that Kim toured a factory operated by medicine firm Tongrentang for about half an hour in an economic zone in the Chinese capital.
"For North Korea itself, 2019 is his strategic turning point. If he wants to shift his focus to the development of the economy, he needs China's cooperation," said Lu Chao, a North Korea expert at China's Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences.
"China will also introduce some successful experiences to Kim to help North Korea achieve economic transformation and realise the denuclearisation of the peninsula as soon as possible," Lu told AFP.
Hua Po, a Beijing-based political commentator, said changes in the economic model will affect politics, "which poses new challenges to his control over the country."
"For this point, he must ask for advice from China." The motorcade likely carrying Kim was later seen leaving Zhongnanhai, China's central leadership compound next to Beijing's Forbidden City. Kim wraps up his visit -- his longest trip to China -- on Thursday.
In a New Year speech, Kim focused on North Korea's moribund economy, saying that improving people's lives was his top priority and tackling energy shortages was an urgent task. But his looming summit with Trump is a pressing issue. In his speech, he warned that Pyongyang may change its approach to nuclear talks if Washington persists with sanctions.
Relations between China and North Korea had deteriorated in recent years over Pyongyang's nuclear activities, but Kim has made sure to keep Xi informed about his dealings with the United States and South Korea and ties appear to have warmed.
"In order to resist the high pressure of the US, he must communicate with Xi in advance to see what steps he can take to deal with Trump," Hua said.