North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was spending his birthday in Beijing after arriving in the Chinese capital Tuesday — which was believed to be his 35th birthday — for his fourth summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping as talks on a second meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump gather steam.

“At the invitation of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chinese president, Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is visiting China,” the official Xinhua News Agency quoted an unidentified spokesperson from the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee International Department as saying Tuesday.

Kim was to visit through Thursday, the spokesperson said.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency also confirmed the visit, saying that Kim had left for China on a private train on Monday afternoon accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and other senior North Korean officials, including Kim Yong Chol and Ri Yong Ho.

Media reports said that a long motorcade believed to be carrying Kim and including motorcycle outriders reserved for state leaders left a train station in the Chinese capital shortly after the arrival of an armored train consisting of 20 to 25 cars — most of whose windows were blacked-out — along tracks lined by police and paramilitary troops.

Kim was expected to stay at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in the capital’s west, with meetings held at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of the legislature that sits next to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

While there was no official confirmation of Kim’s itinerary, South Korea’s Hankyoreh newspaper, citing an unidentified source with close knowledge of North Korea-China affairs, reported late Monday that Kim would meet with Xi.

After the visit’s announcement, Tokyo voiced hopes of receiving a briefing from Beijing on the trip.

“We’re making efforts to collect and analyze information with strong interest and hoping to have an appropriate briefing from the Chinese side from now on,” Kyodo News quoted Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga as saying at a news conference Tuesday.

Regarding the possible impact of Kim’s visit on the second summit with Trump, Suga said, “I’d like to refrain from prejudging at this point.”

Seoul on Tuesday said it hoped the North Korean leader’s trip to China would act as a “stepping stone” for the second Kim-Trump summit. South Korean presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom made the comments hours after Kim arrived in Beijing, adding that he hoped the Xi-Kim talks would also help contribute to achieving the complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim, who Seoul says was born on Jan. 8, 1984 — though the North’s government hasn’t officially confirmed the date — met with Xi in China three times last year before and after he held summits with Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Beijing is Pyongyang’s sole major ally and its top economic lifeline as it continues to fend off crippling sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile programs. The visits last year were widely seen as a courtesy to China and an opportunity to coordinate strategy ahead of the summits with the U.S. and South Korean leaders.

Xi is widely expected to visit North Korea at some point soon, possibly even this year — the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries — which would make him the first Chinese leader to do so since 2005.

Trump said Sunday that the sanctions imposed on the nuclear-armed North will remain “in full force and effect” until the United States saw “very positive,” but also said that discussions on the location of the next summit were underway and that further details would be announced soon.

“We are negotiating a location,” he said.

The White House has remained evasive on the exact timing of the summit, though officials have previously said they expected the meeting to happen sometime early this year.

“It will be announced probably in the not too distant future. They do want to meet and we want to meet and we’ll see what happens,” he said, adding the he had “indirectly spoken” with Kim.

On Monday, the South Korean newspaper Munhwa Ilbo reported that U.S. State Department officials recently met multiple times with North Korean counterparts in Hanoi and discussed planning a second summit between Trump and Kim, fueling speculation that Vietnam could host the event.

Trump, who held a landmark summit with Kim in Singapore in June that resulted in a vaguely worded pledge “to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” said last week that he had received a “great letter” from the North Korean leader but declined to reveal its contents.

The latest letter from Kim came as denuclearization talks remain at an impasse and after the North Korean leader warned in a New Year’s speech that Pyongyang may change its approach to the talks if Washington persists with sanctions.

In his address, Kim urged the United States to take reciprocal measures in exchange for denuclearization steps the North Korean dictator has claimed his country has taken since last year.

“If the United States does not keep the promise it made in the eyes of the world, and out of miscalculation of our people’s patience, it attempts to unilaterally enforce something upon us and persists in imposing sanctions and pressure against our Republic, we may be compelled to find a new way for defending the sovereignty of the country and the supreme interests of the state,” Kim said.

Some observers believe that while it is tempting to interpret this “new way” as being a thinly veiled threat of more nuclear or missile tests, it could instead be an implicit warning that the North could further bolster its already improving ties with China if the U.S. fails to ante up.

“Kim’s confidence stems from the expectation of growing and reliable support by China,” Rudiger Frank, a professor of East Asian economy and society at the University of Vienna, wrote on the North Korea-watching 38 North blog on Jan. 2. “The three summits with Xi Jinping in 2018 seem to have made Kim Jong Un very optimistic.”

Frank said the protracted trade war between Beijing and Washington, among other issues, has created the impression among strategists in Pyongyang of a “Cold War 2.0 situation.”

“Like in the decades before the collapse of the Soviet Union, supporting smaller allies could again become a matter of principle for the Big Powers even if these allies step out of line occasionally,” he wrote. “The not unfounded hope of Kim Jong Un is that in such a strategic setting, China would be willing to provide protection and economic support while abstaining from too massive direct interference. Forcing the U.S. out of Korea, and out of East Asia, is more important to Beijing than reigning in on a self-confident or even provocative North Korea.”

Thus, Kim’s threat may not be a hint at more nuclear tests, “but rather as a message to Donald Trump: You are not our only option for security and economic development. If you refuse to be cooperative, we will ignore you and turn to China. Oh, and we will take South Korea along,” he added.

Still, the North Korean leader is already refraining from putting all of his eggs in one basket, saying in his New Year’s address that, despite the stalled talks, he was willing to meet Trump again at any time to produce results “welcomed by the international community.”</s>North Korea's state media says leader Kim Jong Un has left for China for his fourth summit with Xi Jinping

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea's state media says leader Kim Jong Un has left for China for his fourth summit with Xi Jinping.</s>
• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in China with his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and other senior officials for a four-day trip.
• North Korean propaganda outlets claimed Kim had been invited to the country by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
• The trip comes amid rumors of a second summit with US President Donald Trump, which may be held as early as this year.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in China with his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and other senior officials for a four-day trip, according to Chinese and North Korean media reports on Tuesday.

Kim, who reportedly traveled to China on his armored train, arrived during what is believed to be his 36th birthday, according to the Associated Press. North Korean propaganda outlets claimed Kim had been invited to the country by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The trip comes amid rumors of a second summit with US President Donald Trump, which may be held as early as this year. Representatives from the two countries reportedly held discussions in Vietnam to discuss the venue for the second summit.

“It will be announced probably in the not-too-distant future,” Trump said of the summit and North Korea to reporters on Sunday. “They do want to meet and we want to meet and we’ll see what happens.”

The proposed summit comes after Trump met Kim in Singapore in June, the first such meeting between a sitting US president and North Korean leader, where the two signed an agreement outlining broad goals for denuclearization.</s>The Latest: Kim Jong Un on way to China for summit

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Latest on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's visit to China (all times local):

North Korea's state media says leader Kim Jong Un has left for China.

The Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday that Kim departed for China on Monday afternoon with his wife Ri Sol Ju and top officials.

The KCNA dispatch came after South Korean media reported late Monday that Kim may be on his way to Beijing aboard a special train for his fourth summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Kim's trip comes after U.S. and North Korean officials are believed to have met in Vietnam to discuss the location of a second summit between Kim and President Donald Trump.

South Korean media say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be on his way to Beijing for his fourth summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Officials in China and in Seoul had no immediate comment. North Korea rarely reports such visits until they are over.

The reports said a train like the one often used by Kim was seen crossing through the Chinese border city of Dandong late Monday amid heavy security.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency speculated the train could be carrying a senior North Korean official, while the Hankyoreh newspaper cited sources as saying Kim was in China for a summit.

Yonhap said the train was expected to reach Beijing at about 10 a.m. Tuesday local time.</s>BEIJING — The Latest on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's trip to China (all times local):

Kim Jong Un's train has left Beijing after a two-day visit by the North Korean leader to the Chinese capital.

The long train was seen Wednesday travelling on an elevated track over a busy street heading toward eastern China.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency says it will take 14 hours for the train to reach the city of Dandong at the North Korean border.

Kim reportedly met Chinese President Xi Jinping during his trip, which may have been a precursor to a second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The motorcade of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has headed out on the second full day of his visit to China.

Kim could not be seen but the limousine he uses was observed zipping east down a main thoroughfare in Beijing on Wednesday.

His trip to Beijing has been shrouded in secrecy. North Korean and Chinese state media have announced his visit but provided no details of what he has done since arriving by train on Tuesday morning.

China is North Korea's only major ally, and Kim is likely consulting and coordinating with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and others ahead of a possible second summit with President Donald Trump.</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's train seen leaving Beijing after two-day visit to Chinese capital

BEIJING (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's train seen leaving Beijing after two-day visit to Chinese capital.</s>BEIJING (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing on Tuesday at the start of a four-day visit, in what's likely an effort to coordinate with his only major ally ahead of a second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump that could happen early this year.

A long motorcade including motorcycle outriders reserved for state leaders left a Beijing train station shortly after the arrival of an armored train consisting of 20 to 25 cars — most of whose windows were blacked-out — along tracks lined by police and paramilitary troops.

Kim's trip, announced earlier by both sides, comes after U.S. and North Korean officials are believed to have met in Vietnam to discuss the location of a second summit.

The North's Korean Central News Agency said Kim departed Monday afternoon with his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and other top officials. It said Kim is visiting China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Tuesday also happens to be Kim's birthday.

Beijing's North Railway Station was cocooned in security, with dozens of police and paramilitary troops patrolling outside.

Kim is expected to stay at the highly secure Diaoyutai State Guest House in the capital's west, with meetings held at the Great Hall of the People, the hulking seat of the legislature that sits next to Tiananmen Square.

The trip marked a further break with past practice in that it was announced in advance of Kim's arrival, a possible sign of growing confidence on the part of North Korea and China, the North's most important trading partner and a key buffer against pressure from Washington.

After years of cool relations following Kim's assumption of power 2011, ties have improved remarkably over the past year as Xi seeks to maintain his influence in the region.

Kim's trip comes as the U.S. and North Korea look to settle the North's decades-long pursuit of a nuclear arsenal.

The U.S. and North Korea seemed close to war at points during 2017 as the North staged a series of increasingly powerful weapons tests that brought it closer to its nuclear goal of one day being able to target anywhere on the U.S. mainland.

Possibly fearing the economic effect of crushing outside sanctions imposed over his weapons tests, Kim abruptly turned to diplomacy with Seoul and Washington last year. He also visited China three times, notably without a reciprocal visit from Xi in a break with diplomatic convention.

But even after what was seen as a blockbuster summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore last June — the first ever between the leaders of the war enemies — there's been little real progress in nuclear disarmament.

Washington is pressing North Korea to offer up a detailed accounting of its nuclear arsenal, while the North says it has already done enough and it's time for the U.S. to ease the harsh international sanctions that hold back the North Korean economy.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang gave no details about China's role as an intermediary between the U.S. and North Korea, but said Beijing remained supportive of all efforts toward a solution.

"We always believe that, as key parties to the Korean Peninsula issue, it's important for the two sides to maintain contact and we always support their dialogue to achieve positive outcomes," Lu told reporters at a daily briefing.

He said further information about Kim's activities, the outcome of his meetings and a possible Xi visit to North Korea would be "released in due course."

South Korean presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said Tuesday that Seoul hopes Kim's trip to China will act as a "stepping stone" for a second Trump-Kim summit.

Trump has offered assurances that another summit will allow him and Kim to make a grand deal to settle the nuclear standoff and change a relationship marked by decades of animosity and mistrust.

However, outside analysts are highly skeptical that North Korea will easily abandon a nuclear arsenal constructed in the face of deep poverty and likely seen by Kim as his only guarantee of regime survival.

Instead, Kim may be seeking to gauge China's attitude toward sanctions ahead of the talks, including what North Korea would have to concede in order to win Beijing's support at the U.N.

China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has agreed to several rounds of punishing economic sanctions against the North. However, Xi has called on the sides to "meet each other halfway," and China's foreign minister in September urged some form of sanctions relief in response to any positive outcomes from the first Kim-Trump summit.

North Korea has held off on additional nuclear weapons and missile tests for more than a year, possibly in response to China's displeasure, while carrying out its new diplomatic offensive. "The two leaders will further communicate over the issue of sanctions to further refine their previously general and vague attitudes," said Cheng Xiaohe, professor at Renmin University's School of International Studies in Beijing. "It is impossible to see the cancellation of all sanctions, but what kind of sanctions can be canceled and what are China and North Korea's views on that will be discussed," Cheng said. Trump has pushed heavily for Chinese support in convincing North Korea to give up its weapons programs, suggesting that could win Beijing better terms in a trade deal with Washington. Kim's arrival in Beijing coincides with U.S.-China trade talks in Beijing that seek to end the trade dispute between the world's two largest economies ahead of a March deadline. Asked whether China was linking the two issues in an interview Monday with CNBC, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, "The Chinese have been very clear to us that these are separate issues." "Their behavior has demonstrated that as well and we appreciate that," Pompeo said. "China has actually been a good partner in our efforts to reduce the risk to the world from North Korea's nuclear capability. I expect they will continue to do so." Lu echoed those sentiments in his response to a similar question, saying trade talks and the North Korean issues are "not the same thing." "Our positions on the trade talks are very consistent and clear and we don't need any other techniques to help the U.S. to get our message." Associated Press writers Foster Klug and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.</s>Reports: Kim Jong Un may be on way to China for summit

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean media reported late Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be on his way to Beijing for his fourth summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Officials in China and in Seoul had no immediate comment. North Korea rarely reports such visits until they are over.

The reports said a train like the one often used by Kim was seen crossing through the Chinese border city of Dandong late Monday amid heavy security.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency speculated the train could be carrying a senior North Korean official, while the Hankyoreh newspaper cited sources as saying Kim was in China for a summit.

Yonhap said the train was expected to reach Beijing at about 10 a.m. Tuesday local time.

Kim used a very distinctive armored train made especially for him on visits to China last year.

Reports of the North Korean leader's possible trip to China come after U.S. and North Korean officials are believed to have met in Vietnam to discuss the location of a second summit between Kim and President Donald Trump.

Kim started off his flurry of summits last year with a meeting with Xi. China is the North's most important trading partner and a key buffer against pressure from Washington.

If he is going to meet Xi, Kim could be hoping to coordinate his positions with China before the Trump summit.</s>Just as the second day of mid-level trade talks between US and Chinese delegations in Beijing was beginning, a surprising report crossed the wire: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had been invited to travel to China for the first time since June to meet with President Xi Jinping. News of the visit immediately provoked speculation that Beijing was trying to send a message: If the US wants peace on the Korean peninsula, China will need to be involved.

Underscoring that point, President Trump affirmed last week that Washington and Pyongyang are planning a second diplomatic summit (though Trump claimed that North Korea was showing some reluctance) to continue negotiations about denuclearizing the peninsula.

And while talks between the US and the North have hit an impasse over the US's unwillingness to lift sanctions until the North finishes surrendering his nukes - the North, on the other hand, has been pushing for their gradual removal - South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Tuesday, citing intelligence agency reports, that the North and China might discuss the prospects for "a peace treaty" with South Korea that would formally end the Korean War - one of the loftiest goals from the thaw in inter-Korean relations this year.

Kim is expected to remain in China until the weekend.

A special train, carrying Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, arrived in Beijing earlier in the day on a four-day trip at the invitation of Chinese President Xi, according to the North's state media. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers at a closed-door briefing that Kim may discuss ways to push for a peace treaty that could involve China ahead of his possible second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to lawmakers on the intelligence committee. In a New Year speech, Kim called for multilateral talks involving the signatories to the truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, including China, and replacing it with a peace treaty.

Notably, Kim made his first foreign trip as leader (he traveled by train to China) ahead of the first US-North Korea summit, which suggests that another summit may in fact be in the offing.

His trip raises speculation that a second summit between Trump and Kim might be imminent amid an impasse over North Korea's denuclearization. They held their historic first summit in June in Singapore. The NIS said that Kim will likely seek to discuss sanctions relief and Pyongyang's denuclearization with Xi, according to lawmakers. Kim appears to want to reaffirm China's role as the North's patron and receive a security guarantee as the two countries mark the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year.

One South Korean lawmaker said Kim's visit may have been planned to "put pressure" on the US.

The NIS also added that Kim is expected to inspect industrial facilities in the southeastern Chinese city of Tianjin. The spy agency believes that Kim has an interest in the electricity, tourism and construction sectors. "Kim's visit seems aimed at coordinating stances between the North and China ahead of a potential (Kim-Trump) meeting," a lawmaker told Yonhap News Agency. "At the same time, he apparently seeks to put pressure on the U.S. by highlighting the North's ties with China."

Ironically, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said during a Tuesday press conference that Kim's visit was not unusual and that North Korea would not become "a bargaining chip" in US trade talks. "China and the DPRK are friendly and close neighbors and it is also an important tradition for us to maintain friendly exchanges," Lu said.

The message is clear: If Washington wants peace on the Korean peninsula - or a completely de-nuclearized North Korea - it will need to work with Beijing.</s>BEIJING — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing on Tuesday at the start of a four-day visit, in what's likely an effort to coordinate with his only major ally ahead of a second summit with President Donald Trump that could happen early this year.

A long motorcade including motorcycle outriders reserved for state leaders left a Beijing train station shortly after the arrival of an armored train consisting of 20 to 25 cars — most of whose windows were blacked-out — along tracks lined by police and paramilitary troops.

Kim's trip, announced earlier by both sides, comes after U.S. and North Korean officials are believed to have met in Vietnam to discuss the location of a second summit.

North's Korean Central News Agency said Kim departed Monday afternoon with his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and other top officials. It said Kim is visiting China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Tuesday also happens to be Kim's birthday.

China's official Xinhua News Agency issued a nearly identical report, while Beijing's North Railway Station was cocooned in security, with dozens of police and paramilitary troops patrolling outside.

Kim is expected to stay at the highly secure Diaoyutai State Guest House in the capital's west, with meetings held at the Great Hall of the People, the hulking seat of the legislature that sits next to Tiananmen Square.

The trip marked a further break with past practice in that it was announced in advance of Kim's arrival, a possible sign of growing confidence on the part of North Korea and China, Pyongyang's most important trading partner and a key buffer against pressure from Washington.

After years of cool relations following Kim's assumption of power 2011, ties have improved remarkably over the past year as Xi seeks to maintain his influence in the region.

Kim's trip comes as the U.S. and North Korea look to settle the North's decades-long pursuit of a nuclear arsenal.

Washington and Pyongyang seemed close to war at points during 2017 as the North staged a series of increasingly powerful weapons tests that got it tantalizingly close to its nuclear goal of one day targeting with pinpoint accuracy anywhere on the U.S. mainland.

Possibly fearing the economic effect of crushing outside sanctions imposed because of his weapons' tests, Kim abruptly turned to diplomacy with Seoul and Washington last year. He also visited China three times, notably without a reciprocal visit from Xi in a break with diplomatic convention.

But even after what was seen as a blockbuster summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore last June — the first-ever between the leaders of the war enemies — there's been little real progress in nuclear disarmament.

Washington is pressing the North to offer up a detailed accounting of its nuclear arsenal, while Pyongyang says it has already done enough and it's time for the U.S. to ease harsh international sanctions that hold back the North Korean economy.

South Korean presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said Tuesday that Seoul hopes Kim's trip to China will act as a "stepping stone" for a second Trump-Kim summit.

Trump has offered assurances that another summit will allow him and Kim to make a grand deal to settle the nuclear standoff and change a relationship marked by decades of animosity and mistrust.

However, outside analysts are highly skeptical that the North will easily abandon a nuclear arsenal constructed in the face of deep poverty and likely seen by Kim as his only guarantee of regime survival.

Instead, Kim may be seeking to gauge China's attitude toward sanctions ahead of the talks, including what the North would have to concede in order to win Beijing's support at the U.N.

The North has held off on additional nuclear weapons and missile tests for more than a year, possibly in response to China's displeasure, while carrying out its new diplomatic offensive.

"The two leaders will further communicate over the issue of sanctions to further refine their previously general and vague attitudes," said Cheng Xiaohe, professor at Renmin University's School of International Studies in Beijing.

"It is impossible to see the cancellation of all sanctions, but what kind of sanctions can be cancelled and what are China and North Korea's views on that will be discussed," Cheng said.

Trump has pushed heavily for Chinese support in convincing North Korea to give up its weapons programs, suggesting that could win Beijing better terms in a trade deal with Washington.

Kim's arrival in Beijing coincides with U.S.-China trade talks in Beijing that seek to end the trade dispute between the world's two largest economies ahead of a March deadline.

Asked whether China was linking to issues in an interview Monday with CNBC, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, "The Chinese have been very clear to us that these are separate issues."

"Their behavior has demonstrated that as well and we appreciate that," Pompeo said. "China has actually been a good partner in our efforts to reduce the risk to the world from North Korea's nuclear capability. I expect they will continue to do so."

Associated Press writers Foster Klug and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrives in Beijing for his fourth summit meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.