SECRETIVE TRIP
North Korea and China show unity after talks
Xi Jinping plans reciprocal visit to Pyongyang, his first to the belligerent Korean state in six years
Beijing — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was given a lavish welcome by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a secretive trip to Beijing as both sides try to repair frayed relations before Pyongyang’s landmark summits with Seoul and Washington. US President Donald Trump welcomed the Beijing meeting and said there was now a "good chance" Kim would scrap his nuclear weapons, but warned that sanctions must stay in force in the meantime. On his first trip abroad since taking power, Kim and his wife were greeted by an honour guard and a banquet hosted by Xi, according to state media, which confirmed the "unofficial" visit on Wednesday only after Kim had returned by train to North Korea. The two men held talks at the stately Great Hall of the People, during which they hailed their nations’ historic relations, with Kim pledging he was "committed to denuclearisation" on the Korean peninsula, according to China’s Xinhua news agency. Kim had also expressed willingness to hold the summits with ...
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