Kim Jong-un has flown to China for a surprise visit to meet President Xi Jinping just weeks ahead of the dictator’s planned summit with Donald Trump.
Xi and Kim took a seaside stroll in the northeastern city of Dalian and attended a lunch banquet during a two-day visit.
The pictures emerged after Pyongyang’s VIP jet was seen taking off from the port city’s airport today along with a second plane belonging to Pyongyang’s Air Koryo.
The two leaders discussed bilateral issues, with Xi telling Kim of his support of talks between North Korea and the United States.
Kim Jong-un has flown to China for a surprise visit to meet President Xi Jinping just weeks ahead of the dictator’s planned summit with Donald Trump. The two leaders were pictured taking a seaside stroll in Dalian
Xi and Kim took a seaside stroll in the northeastern city of Dalian amid reports the two leaders met for talks on both Monday and Tuesday
Earlier, footage emerged of Pyongyang’s VIP jet landing in China. The aircraft, reserved for high-profile officials, was seen taking off from the northeastern Chinese port city today along with a second plane belonging to Pyongyang’s Air Koryo (pictured)
China is North Korea’s only major ally, although trade between them has plummeted in recent months as Beijing enforces United Nations economic sanctions in response to the North’s nuclear bomb and ballistic missile tests.
The meeting between Xi and Kim comes as the North Korean leader prepares to hold a historic summit with US President Donald Trump and after Kim met South Korean President Moon Jae-in last month.
China has been eager to assert its importance in the process of lowering tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Kim travelled to Beijing by train in March for his maiden official trip abroad and met President Xi Jinping for the first time since taking power in 2011. His trip was kept secret until he returned to North Korea.
One of the planes seen in Dalian resembled the one used by Kim’s sister and close aide, Kim Yo Jong, to travel to South Korea for the Winter Olympics in February.
NHK television showed images of a motorcade of cars with black-tinted windows travelling through Dalian, where roads and air traffic had been temporarily restricted a day before.
In 2014, pictures emerged of Kim stepping onto a red carpet from his own version of ‘Air Force One’.
The images showed the luxury Russian 174ft IL-62 jetliner that carries Kim and his wife Ri Sol-ju on official engagements around the secretive country.
In 2014, pictures emerged of Kim stepping onto a red carpet from his own version of ‘Air Force One’ (pictured)
Images released four years ago showed the luxury Russian 174ft IL-62 jetliner that carries Kim and his wife Ri Sol-ju on official engagements around the secretive country
The use of a private jet is a departure from the behaviour of Kim’s father Kim Jong-Il, who had such a fear of flying that he visited China and Russia in a private armoured train.
Unveiled in 1962 with its first flight the following year, the IL-62 became commonly-used around the world and continued being manufactured until 1994.
Now-defunct nations including the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia adapted the plane into a private jet before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
China has sought to improve relations with its Cold War-era ally after ties chilled over Beijing’s support of United Nations sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear activities.
Beijing is keen to avoid being left out in the cold as North Korea holds talks with South Korea and the United States.
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, met with Kim in Pyongyang last week — the first trip there by a Chinese foreign minister since 2007.