Kim Jong Un has reportedly arrived in Beijing on surprise visit!
A special, high-security train was spotted crossing the border and pulling into Beijing on Monday
Rumors and reports are running wild tonight that Kim Jong Un is in Beijing.
On Monday, Japan’s Kyodo News reported that a special, high-security train had crossed over the North Korea-China border and had arrived in Beijing. Footage of the train pulling into China’s capital city shows that it looks similar to the one that Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, used to ride when visiting the country.
At the railway station in Beijing, the 21-carriage train was met by an honor guard and a line of VIP cars. A large motorcade was then spotted speeding through emptied streets in the capital.
Three Bloomberg sources have confirmed Kim’s surprise visit to Beijing, though details of the trip remain a mystery, including its purpose and how long the North Korean leader plans to stay in China.
The alleged visit would be Kim’s first to a foreign country since taking power in 2011 following his father’s death. Kim Jong Il made four trips to China between 2010 and 2011 — all by train due to an obsessive fear of flying.
This comes after Donald Trump announced his willingness earlier this month to meet with Kim Jong Un in what would be an unprecedented summit after South Korean officials said that Kim was willing to discuss finally giving up his country’s nuclear weapons ambitions.
The North Korean side has yet to confirm that Kim is willing to attend such a summit, however, it seems clear that if one does happen, then China does not want to be left out and may even hope to host the historic meeting.
In recent years, China-North Korea relations have become increasingly strained thanks to Pyongyang’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons. China has responded by slapping a number of different UN-backed sanctions on its tiny neighbor, doing damage to the Hermit Kingdom’s economy, though it remains obvious that Beijing still has no interest in seeing Kim’s regime fall. A collapse that could see US troops arriving back on its border.
