Reports confirm Kim's surprised China trip
27 March 2018 4:48 PM GMT
Beijing: Mercurial North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday made an unprecedented whirlwind trip to Beijing - his first foreign trip since he took over power in 2011 - and reported to have held talks with the top Chinese leadership ahead of his planned summit with US President Donald Trump.
While the Foreign Ministry here parried questions over his reported visit which threw the road and rail traffic in Beijing out of gear, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted Chinese 'sources' confirming that Kim visited Beijing.
"It wasn't his sister, it was Kim himself," the paper quoted a source as saying.
Kim is reported to have left by the "distinctive green train" to Pyongyang by which he had arrived earlier.
A beaming Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying parried a volley of questions about Kim's visit at a packed daily briefing on Tuesday, saying that she is not aware of his visit and would get back in "due course" if she gets the details.
"If we have information, we will publish it," Hua said.
The first hint that the mystery guest was Kim was the appearance of the green train of the type favoured by North Korea's senior leadership, which was seen travelling from the border city of Dandong to Beijing, the Post reported.
Earlier, media personnel rushed to the plush Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where foreign dignitaries usually stay as it was cordoned off with heavy security.
Local people were told to avoid the area.
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