BEIJING
• China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit North Korea this week, becoming the highest ranking Chinese official to travel there in years as Beijing moves to further improve ties with Pyongyang days after a landmark inter-Korea summit.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement yesterday that Mr Wang will visit North Korea tomorrow and Thursday at the invitation of his North Korean counterpart, Mr Ri Yong Ho.

The two met in Beijing early last month, days after talks between President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Chinese capital.

Mr Wang will be the first Chinese foreign minister to visit the North since 2007, an interval which highlights the rough patch that relations between the Cold War-era allies have gone through in recent years. China has backed a series of United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons programme.

But Beijing is likely eager to avoid being sidelined in the wave of diplomacy that led to last Friday's historic summit between Mr Kim and South Korea President Moon Jae In.

Mr Kim is expected to meet US President Donald Trump in the coming weeks at a time and place yet to be decided. Mr Kim has also invited Mr Xi to visit Pyongyang, but no date has been set yet.

"The Chinese are undoubtedly eager to hear what Kim Jong Un's plan is for his meeting with Donald Trump," said Dr Bonnie Glaser, China specialist at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies. "It is also possible that Wang Yi is in Pyongyang to advance Xi's visit to North Korea," Dr Glaser said, adding that there are rumours Mr Xi could go to Pyongyang before the Trump-Kim summit.

At their summit in the Demilitarised Zone, Mr Kim and Mr Moon decided to seek a peace treaty by the end of the year and hold talks with the United States, and possibly China, to achieve it. The Korean War ceased in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. China fought on the North's side.

Being left out of peace talks would be unacceptable to Beijing, Dr Glaser said. "The Chinese want to ensure that they are at the table and have a means to influence the course of events on the peninsula."

While China has backed punitive measures against the North, analysts say Beijing could worry that the diplomatic thaw could lead to a deal between Pyongyang and Washington that goes against its interests.

A divided Korea has played in its favour as the North serves as a buffer from the South, where US troops are stationed. Despite recent tensions, China is the North's sole major ally and top economic partner.

Pyongyang has promised to shut its nuclear test site within weeks and invite American experts and media to verify its closure.

"Beijing is likely irritated that Kim has ignored China's 'freeze for freeze' proposal," Dr Glaser said.

China has repeatedly proposed that the North suspend its nuclear and missile tests in return for the US, Japan and South Korea halting regional military drills.

But while Mr Kim has offered to suspend the tests, he has dropped his demand for the US and its allies to stop military manoeuvres.

"Kim has said nothing about the eventual removal of US troops from Korea, which is almost certainly what China hopes for," Dr Glaser said.</s>
• But when he does, observers have noted some of his unusual travel habits.
• They include his insistence on having a “personal toilet” and bringing a special noodle machine from Pyongyang.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has reportedly agreed to meet with President Donald Trump in the Korean demilitarized zone, according to news reports on Tuesday.

For Kim, the meeting will mark a rare moment in the public eye. The enigmatic leader visited the DMZ last week to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-In, and in March he traveled to China to meet with President Xi Jinping, but otherwise has not left his native country since he took office in 2011.

Kim’s previous turns on the international stage have revealed some of his curious travel habits, like his need for a “personal toilet” to accompany him and his insistence on bringing a special noodle machine on trips.

Read on to read about the unusual things Kim does when he goes on international trips.

As Kim’s car arrived at the start of peace talks with South Korean president Moon Jae-In last week, cameras caught an unusual sight: a fleet of 12 bodyguards, dressed in full suits and black dress shoes, surrounding the vehicle and running alongside it.

The “human motorcade,” as some news outlets called it, kept pace with the vehicle and stayed in perfect formation as it drove around turns in the road until it finally came to a halt, giving the bodyguards a moment to catch a breath.

Most world leaders travel by airplane, but much like his father and grandfather, Kim Jong-Un’s preferred mode of transportation is private train.

Whenever Kim travels, as he did to China last month, three trains are needed: an advance security train, Kim’s train, and another train for bodyguards and supplies, according to The New York Times.

Each carriage on Kim’s 90 high-security carriages is bulletproof, and with all the extra weight, the trains top out at just 37 miles per hour, the Times reported.

He doesn’t use public restrooms when he travels — he uses a ‘personal toilet’ instead

Apparently, Kim Jong-un doesn’t use public restrooms when he travels, instead opting for a “personal toilet,” Lee Yun-keol, a former member of the North Korean Guard Command unit, told The Washington Post. And the reason has nothing to do with cleanliness.

“Rather than using a public restroom, the leader of North Korea has a personal toilet that follows him around when he travels,” Lee told The Post. “The leader’s excretions contain information about his health status so they can’t be left behind.”

In 2015, South Korean news agency DailyNK reported that a customized bathroom is built into one of the cars of Kim’s convoy of armored vehicles.

Kim’s meticulously planned meeting with South Korean president Moon Jae-In accounted for the personal tastes of both leaders.

For Kim, that meant bringing a special noodle machine to make “naengmyeon,” a dish of cold buckwheat noodles. According to Vice News, the meal was prepared by the head chef at Okryu-gwan, a famous restaurant in Pyongyang.

His only international visit was shrouded in secrecy

Kim’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in March was notable for a few reasons. For one, it was Kim’s first-ever international trip since assuming power in 2011.

But the visit was also noteworthy for the mystery surrounding it. Kim’s visit wasn’t made public until it was already over, confirming for intrigued observers that the armored train that arrived in Beijing was indeed carrying the North Korean leader.

And he’s never far away from one of his private airstrips

Kim is known for his penchant for his extravagant tastes, and that applies for state travel as well. The leader reportedly ordered the construction of five private airstrips for his personal use, according to The Telegraph.

The airstrips are located next to Kim’s multiple palaces and private train stations, The Telegraph reported.</s>SEOUL—South Korea turned off dozens of high-volume loudspeakers on Monday, putting a halt to the propaganda they normally broadcast over the border into North Korea. The move, a government spokesman said, was designed to set a peaceful tone ahead of the talks between the two Koreas Friday—a tone that was reinforced by the announcement that the countries had committed to work toward a peace agreement. The strikingly amicable inter-Korean summit will in turn set the tone for an upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit, during which President Trump and Kim Jong Un are expected to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But while the South’s loudspeakers have stopped blaring reports critical of the North, forbidden messages are still flowing across the border—on the airwaves of a Christian radio station. South Korea’s largest religious radio broadcaster, the Far East Broadcasting Company, transmits gospel-centered programs to both North and South Korea every day of the week. The station’s goal is to use Christian radio to subvert the Kim regime’s strict ban on religion, and ultimately pave the way for a unified, Christianized Korean Peninsula. The Christians behind FEBC advocate for the reunification of the two Koreas under a democratic system, which they believe would bolster religious freedom. What’s more, they see Christianity and North Korean ideology as mutually exclusive—and argue that the former can be an antidote to the latter.

Around 20 percent of South Korea’s population identifies as Protestant, and Protestantism has roots on the Korean Peninsula stretching back to the 19th century, when American missionaries began arriving there. The religion gained stature as churches became associated with the resistance to Japanese occupation of a then-unified Korea during World War II, but still remained on the margins—only 2 percent of South Koreans were Christian in 1945. But the two Koreas took different religious paths following their division in 1948. In South Korea the government was friendly toward the United States and Christianity, and Protestantism continued to grow based in part on its association with wealth, modernity, and Americans. Churches also served as social hubs for rural South Koreans who moved to cities during the country’s industrialization. But under the communist system that took root in the North, religion was suppressed, though not altogether outlawed. The current Kim regime is intolerant of any independent religious practice. Christian-run institutions there, like the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, have been in a precarious position—two American former teachers at the school are currently being detained by the North Korean government. Why Billy Graham Was Determined to Globalize Evangelicalism FEBC spreads its message through far-reaching broadcasts—the station has a strong 300-kilowatt transmitter that can reach all of North and South Korea, as well as Japan and parts of Russia and China. Beyond broadcasting, the station also hosts Christian music festivals and runs children’s choirs that travel internationally. It receives approximately 1.2 million calls, texts, and letters per year from listeners and is entirely funded through donations. Though it’s impossible to estimate North Korean listenership, Mary Kay Park, a media strategist at the station’s Los Angeles branch, estimated that the number is likely “in the thousands.” She offered a lofty characterization of the station’s role. “We transmit changed values, and different ideas of the gospel and what freedom looks like. The transformational message of the gospel will help if there is reunification.”

The station broadcasts different programs to its North Korean audience than to its South Korean listeners. North Korean programming focuses on defector-run shows about Christianity and provides audio church services—the latter because most North Koreans cannot attend local churches, or even speak about Christianity, without risking forced labor or execution. While the North Korean government allows a few formal, state-controlled religious groups, the CIA World Factbook reports that these groups “exist to provide an illusion of religious freedom,” and that independent religious activity is “almost nonexistent” in the country. North Korea “curtails all basic human rights,” according to Human Rights Watch, and religious freedom is no exception. In the 1940s, estimates put the number of churchgoing Christians in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang between 25 and 30 percent of all adult residents. Though it’s impossible to get an accurate count given the Kim regime’s strict controls on information, after decades of oppression, the United Nations in 2014 cited estimates that the number of Christians living in North Korea was then between 200,000 and 400,000, or around 1 percent of the country’s population. But South Korean Christian groups like FEBC cannot meet them, or potential converts, face to face. Tourist visits to North Korea are closely chaperoned by state-employed guides, and proselytizing is prohibited. The station has settled for what it sees as the next best thing: reaching the curious through illicit radio receivers.

FEBC buys handheld radio receivers and gives them to Christian organizations that work with smugglers to get the radios into North Korea so residents can secretly listen to the station’s broadcasts. Chung Soo Kim, who has for more than 20 years been a radio host for FEBC, where he translates California pastor Rick Warren’s sermons, estimated that the company has purchased “tens of thousands” of receivers over more than two decades. He said he recognized that while simply owning a radio is not necessarily risky, smuggling the radios into North Korea, or being caught listening to FEBC, can be dangerous. He justified the station’s distribution methods by saying that the smugglers know the risks of these missions, and they choose to carry them out anyway. FEBC sometimes donates receivers to organizations that send them over the border by balloon, rather than using smugglers on foot. (Secular human-rights organizations run similar smuggling operations to expose North Koreans to foreign movies and television.) Because the radios are not pre-set to any specific channel, recipients of the radios can choose which stations they want to listen to. Chung Soo Kim said FEBC does not encourage North Koreans who listen to its programming to share their faith with others under the current regime. “We just want to share the Christian gospel with them. We don’t want them to put themselves at risk by openly claiming that they are Christian in North Korea.” He added that although the North Korean government has attempted to jam its signals, “financially, they cannot afford to jam our broadcasts. They do not even have enough food to feed their own people.” The station has indications from defectors’ testimonies and listener feedback that its broadcasts are reaching their destination. Sookook Kim, who works in the feedback department, said correspondence from North Korean listeners is rare because of the risk involved in sending it, but arrives occasionally. She recounted one letter from a Christian living in North Korea who listened to the company’s broadcasts under a blanket at 4 a.m., the only time that listener deemed it safe to do so. The listener meticulously copied down pages of sermons and Bible passages and sent the papers to the station with a monetary offering. “It was so touching for us,” she said. “If we don’t receive these kinds of materials, it’s hard to have faith that they are really listening to FEBC Korea.”

On the South Korean side of programming, FEBC has a show dedicated to reunification, under what would effectively be the South’s terms of a democratic system of government, and informing South Koreans about news in the North. The South’s version of the reunification concept has historically been popular there—indeed, seeking “peaceful unification based on the principles of freedom and democracy” is codified in the country’s constitution—but it is becoming less so. A 2017 study by the South Korean government found that 58 percent of South Koreans support reunification, down from 69 percent just four years before. Many young South Koreans in particular have described opposition to absorbing the costs of joining two societies with such profound economic and cultural differences, and are more inclined to see the North as a threat, or potential source of impoverished refugees, than a neighbor. “There is a cultural gap between North Korea and South Korea, so we have to minimize those gaps,” Sookook Kim said. While the station refrains from suggesting specific paths toward reunification, its ideal unified state would give all Koreans “an equal amount of freedom to South Koreans,” said Chung Soo Kim. He said he believes the spread of Christianity can help bring this about by exposing North Koreans to ideas from the outside world. If reunification under a more democratic government took place, that would in turn provide more freedom to spread Christianity. “Korea is divided, and we consider them as our people,” he said. “We are solely doing the best we can do to bring reunification through the religious sector.”

FEBC’s sleek, listener-funded, $40-million building with floor-to-ceiling glass walls opened in 2013 in Hongdae, one of Seoul’s trendiest neighborhoods. Around 80 employees bustle around the office dressed impeccably in formal business attire. Permeating every corner of the building is the memory of the famous late evangelist, Billy Graham, who visited South Korea in 1973. A Lego recreation of the largest rally of Graham’s career, held in Seoul, greets visitors in a coffee shop in FEBC’s headquarters. The model is accurate, even down to the color of the flowers in front of the stage and its plastic styling of Graham’s hair. Another tiny Lego figure stands beside Graham’s likeness: Billy Kim, a pastor who translated for Graham during the 1973 rally, and who now serves as the chairman of FEBC. The Billys’ friendship spanned four decades, and Kim spoke at Graham’s funeral last month. (“It’s as we say in Korean, ‘a big star has fallen,’” Chung Soo Kim said about Graham’s death.) Photos of the two pastors hang in several places around the FEBC building. The second floor is home to a new office of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, opened to prepare for the 2020 trip of Franklin Graham, the late evangelist’s son, to Seoul.

Billy Graham held communism in contempt, and in 1949 proclaimed that “communism is a religion that is inspired, directed, and motivated by the devil himself who has declared war against Almighty God.” Despite his outspoken opposition to communism, in 1992 Graham became one of the first foreign religious leaders to visit the North Korean capital. Though Graham did not preach to stadium crowds there, he gave Kim Il Sung, the communist country’s first leader, a Bible. “I think that [Graham] saw evangelism as a way to spread the gospel, and help democratize countries,” said Helen Kim, a historian of Korean and American Christianity at Emory University. She has spent time at the FEBC office in Seoul, and said that while the station says it wants to stay out of politics, its mission of facilitating the spread of Christianity in North Korea is inherently political. That’s because full acceptance of Christianity directly undermines North Korea’s government-mandated juche ideology. “It’s like mixing oil and water,” she said. While North Korea’s first dictator grew up with Christian parents, the juche ideology Kim Il Sung instituted is adamantly atheistic. Important tenets of juche include veneration of the dictator, devotion to the communist state, and self-reliance. North Koreans are also required to revere the Kim family. The country has an estimated 40,000 statues of Kim Il Sung, each household is required to hang portraits of past dictators in pristine condition, and newspapers featuring photos of Kim Jong Un cannot be folded. This required activity, which arguably amounts to worship, contradicts core Christian doctrines that prohibit idol-worship. Despite the political, economic, and cultural challenges that would accompany reunification, and despite the tense atmosphere that persists ahead of another looming summit, FEBC is holding onto hope. A banner depicting colorful, harmonious images superimposed onto a map of a unified Korean peninsula hangs prominently outside the company’s recording studios. “When reunification happens,” Chung Soo Kim said, “we are ready to plant a radio station in Pyongyang anytime.”</s>BEIJING (AP) — The foreign minister of North Korea's chief ally China will visit Pyongyang this week following the historic summit between the leaders of the two Koreas.

The trip by Wang Yi comes as Beijing and Pyongyang continue an effort to repair ties that have suffered from tensions in recent years, and ahead of a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and the North's leader Kim Jong Un.

Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement issued Monday that Wang will visit on Wednesday and Thursday.

China is the North's only major economic partner, but trade has declined by about 90 percent following Beijing's implementation of economic sanctions imposed over the North's nuclear bomb and ballistic missile tests.

Kim last month made his first visit to Beijing since taking power six years ago, kicking off a flurry of diplomacy highlighted by his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last week. South Korean officials said Kim told Moon that he would be willing to give up his nuclear weapons if the U.S. commits to a formal end to the Korean War and a pledge not to attack the North.

Kim also pledged to shut down the North's nuclear test site in May and disclose the process to experts and journalists from South Korea and the United States, Seoul's presidential office said.

China has long called for dialogue between the parties and welcomed the summit as a vehicle for reducing tensions. Analysts say China's sanctions implementation may have helped prompt the North's diplomatic initiatives although the secretive regime in Pyongyang has made no public comments on the issue.

China says sanctions are intended to further diplomacy rather than punish the North and opposes any measures that could topple the regime, possibly bringing a tide of refugees across its border and leading to the stationing of U.S. and South Korea troops in the North.</s>China’s foreign minister will travel to North Korea on Wednesday in the first such visit since 2007, which analysts say may show Beijing’s desire to join the next stage of talks involving the two Koreas and the United States.

Wang Yi’s trip will come ahead of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement on Monday that Wang would visit on Wednesday and Thursday at the invitation of his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho.

China is the North’s only major economic partner, but trade has declined by about 90 per cent since Beijing’s implementation of economic sanctions imposed over Pyongyang’s nuclear bomb and ballistic missile tests.

China could be excluded from peace talks after Trump-Kim summit, analysts say

In March, Kim made his first visit to Beijing since taking power in 2011, kicking off a flurry of diplomacy culminating in his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last week.

South Korean officials said Kim had told Moon that he would be willing to give up his nuclear weapons if the US committed to a formal end to the Korean war and pledged not to attack the North.

Kim also promised to shut the North’s nuclear test site in May and disclose the process to specialists and journalists from South Korea and the United States, Seoul’s presidential office said.

China has backed a series of United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons programme, but Beijing is likely to want to avoid being marginalised in the diplomatic activity.

In recent years, Beijing has relied more on its Communist Party’s diplomatic channels to engage Pyongyang. Wang’s immediate superior, Politburo member Yang Jiechi, visited North Korea in 2007 when he was the foreign minister.

Zhao Tong, a fellow on the nuclear policy programme at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy, said Wang’s visit might be evidence of China’s strong will to be involved in future talks on the Korean peninsula.

Song Tao, head of the party’s International Department, visited Pyongyang earlier in April, a further sign of improving ties between Beijing and Pyongyang after Kim’s landmark visit to the Chinese capital in March.

South Korea preparing for summit with North Korea and US, diplomat says

“[Wang’s visit] appears to be a higher level of meeting than Song’s and carries a meaning of greater importance,” Zhao said.

“China would be interested to know what the two Koreas meant by their vow on Friday to ‘work together to officially end the Korean war through trilateral talks or quadrilateral talks’.

“China may be concerned that it might get a seat at the table only after talks between the two Koreas and the US.

“Wang may persuade Pyongyang to act regarding quadrilateral talks, making sure Beijing is involved in the forthcoming peace talks.”

In addition, Wang may express Beijing’s wish to take part in future nuclear inspections in North Korea, adding legitimacy to its case for involvement in future talks on the peninsula, Zhao said.

“China is a legitimate nuclear state and it would make sense for Beijing to observe the inspection or the dismantlement process of Pyongyang’s nuclear programme,” Zhao said.

“This would ensure China’s position as a legitimate player in denuclearisation.”

Paik Hak-soon, a director of the Centre for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute in Seoul, agreed that Wang might reinforce the case for China’s involvement in further talks.

Kim Jong-un offers to give up North Korea’s nukes if US promises not to invade, says South Korea

“During the inter-Korean summit in 2007, it was Pyongyang, not Seoul, that actually preferred three-party talks over four-party talks,” Paik said.

“It would be correct to say Beijing is concerned that it might be overlooked.”

However, Paik disagreed with the possibility that China would be overlooked during the peace talks process on the peninsula.

“We must look at the wider picture,” Paik said. “The phrase ‘overlooking China’ may be correct if you look at the present situation only, but is incorrect if you look at the bigger picture politically in the region.

“Geopolitically, China has positioned itself to play a pivotal role in the future [for the settlement of permanent peace on the Korean peninsula].”

Bonnie Glaser, a China specialist at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said being left out of peace talks would be unacceptable to Beijing.

“The Chinese want to ensure that they are at the table and have the means to influence the course of events on the peninsula,” Glaser said.

“China is undoubtedly eager to hear what Kim’s plan is for his meeting with Donald Trump.”

It has been proposed repeatedly by China that the North suspend its nuclear and missile tests in return for the US, Japan and South Korea halting regional military drills.

Although Kim has offered to suspend the tests, he has made no public mention of any demand for the US and its allies to halt military manoeuvres.

“Kim has said nothing about the eventual removal of US troops from Korea, which is almost certainly what China hopes for,” Glaser said.

North Korea still looking to China for economic and political security, analysts say

“Beijing is probably irritated that Kim has ignored China’s ‘freeze for freeze’ proposal [that the US and South Korea halt major military exercises in exchange for North Korea doing the same].”

Zhao said Wang might also seek to improve the political relationship with Pyongyang.

Kim has invited Xi to visit Pyongyang, but with no date set for this yet.

Both Glaser and Paik expected Wang’s visit to help establish the agenda for Xi’s trip. .

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and Associated Press</s>South Korean President Moon Jae-In has convinced North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to hold his upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, a source tells CNN.

Moon and Kim met at the same location in Panmunjom last Friday, a historically significant event that was televised worldwide and led to an agreement to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and formally end the Korean War.

There is a “strong possibility” the summit will be held at the site, with some events possibly scheduled on the northern side of the military demarcation line separating the two countries, according to an official with deep knowledge of North Korea’s thinking on the matter.

The venue makes the most sense logistically for Kim, the source said, because media facilities and equipment are already in place, which could the allow the summit to take place “in late May.”

Traveling to the northern side of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) would also provide a historic opportunity for Trump, the source said, adding that Moon may be involved in the summit in some capacity.

The idea of meeting at the DMZ wasn’t a complete surprise to aides, since Trump has been talking about it all weekend and raised it in his Sunday phone call with Moon, a senior US official and a person familiar with the conversations told CNN.

Trump loved the images from the inter-Korean summit and the fact the entire meeting was televised, those sources said.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Trump said he was enthusiastic about the idea of holding the summit in the DMZ. “There’s something I like about it, because you’re there, if things work out, there’s a great celebration to be had on the site, not in a third party country,” he said.

Millions watched Moon’s meeting with Kim last Friday, the first meeting between two leaders of North and South Korea in a decade.

Cameras followed the leaders’ movements throughout the day, from Moon’s departure from Seoul to the moment Kim crossed the demarcation line into the south — and encouraged Moon to cross to the North.

The US President wants to be involved in similar scenes when he becomes the first sitting US President to meet a North Korean leader. He’s keen to take part in a cross-border handshake, but also wants photos to document the moment if he decides to stand up and walk out of talks, they said.

However, concerns remain inside the administration that Trump may be too eager for a deal. Those same skeptics worry holding the meeting at the DMZ will appear conciliatory toward Kim.

As he has said in public, Trump remains insistent he will not be played as the two seek to end the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

As a result, US officials are still arguing for Singapore as a possible location for the talks, telling Trump it presents a more neutral option, the sources said.

The wealthy and glamorous city-state sits on the end of the Malay Peninsula and has often been seen as a gateway between Asia and the West.

A close ally to the United States during the Cold War and currently host to a US military presence, Singapore also has a diplomatic relationship with North Korea. It is one of only 47 countries to feature a North Korean embassy.

Additionally, Singapore has previously held other historic events — in 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with then-Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore, the first and only time the leaders of the two Chinas have met since they split in 1949.

But one senior official conceded the symbolism wouldn’t be there, and noted there are still logistical considerations to worry about with Singapore.

Singapore also raises problems for Kim. Similar to his father before him, the north Korean leader is reluctant to travel long distances by plane, partly due to security issues, as well as logistical problems. Kim Jong Il, Kim’s father and previous ruler of North Korea, would only travel in his armored train, rather than moving around the world by air.

“(Kim’s) fleet of aircraft are very old and (we’re) just honestly not sure if he can physically get to where he needs to go if its further than a certain number of miles away,” Jenna Gibson, director of communications at the Korea Economic Institute, told CNN.

Another option previously suggested by both sides was Ulaanbaatar, the sparsely-populated capital of Mongolia to the northwest of North Korea.

It might seem like an unusual choice of location but North Korean experts maintain it makes sense to both sides for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the Mongolian government has diplomatic ties with both Pyongyang and Washington, leaving it as a neutral ground for the two leaders.

Additionally from North Korea’s perspective, Ulaanbaatar is much closer to North Korea and Kim could likely travel to the summit in comfort on his father’s armored train.

“Mongolia is very eager to host this summit, they have come out and said they will host it … They want to be the Switzerland of Asia, they want to be seen as a partner that can have good ties with everybody,” Gibson said.

But it also is not a perfect choice either, as it would require Trump to travel a lot further than Kim, which may be seen as a concession to North Korea from the outset.

Speaking to CNN, Jean Lee, a North Korea expert at the Wilson Center, said a number of other potential options, such as Beijing, Pynongyang and Washington, were eliminated early on due to their political implications or logistical difficulties.

“Ultimately, they need a country where both leaders have the security they need, to have a country where they can meet in common ground … it’s a small number of countries to be honest” said Lee.</s>Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit North Korea on Wednesday ahead of the upcoming summit between Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump, the Chinese foreign ministry has announced.

The two-day visit will involve preparations for the historic meeting between the two countries, as North Korea agrees to efforts to denuclearize.

“State Councilor Wang will visit North Korea at the invitation of North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho,” a foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Wang is “likely to be briefed on the results of the Moon-Kim summit and discuss strategies for the upcoming summit between Kim and Trump.”

The trip follows a meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-In on Saturday where the two men agreed to a de-escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula.

“As I stand here today I can see that South and North Koreans are the same people, they cannot be separated. We are compatriots,” Kim said at the meeting. “We should not be confronting each other, we are the same people and should live in unity. I hope we will be able to live very peacefully in the future, as soon as possible.”

Yet according to a report from the South China Morning Post, China could be excluded from peace talks between North Korea and the U.S., despite Donald Trump’s long-term belief that China was the key intermediary for delivering peace.

“The stance of China’s foreign ministry has been that [the North Korean nuclear crisis] is none of its business and that North Korea and the U.S. should be communicating directly,” Zhang Liangui, a specialist in Korean studies at the Central Party School, told the Post.

“So now things are out of China’s control and it is no surprise that it is being excluded from the discussions,” he continued. “Now it all depends on the U.S.’ attitude. There’s a chance for real denuclearisation if the U.S. remains determined and does not consider only its own interests.”

China has long been North Korea’s closest ally, providing political and economic support to the regime through trade and bilateral relations. However, China has pulled back some support over the past year amid North Korea’s multiple nuclear tests and threats against regional powers.

Trump, meanwhile, has said he thinks his meeting with Kim will be “terrific” and thanked China for their role in easing tensions.

“I think it will be terrific,” he said this month. “I think we’ll go in with a lot of respect and we’ll see what happens, but China has really helped us at the border and we appreciate it.”

Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.</s>South Korea, China and Japan will hold a trilateral summit in Tokyo next week, Seoul announced Tuesday, the latest move in a diplomatic whirlwind centred around North Korea.

It follows a historic and headline-grabbing summit between Moon and the North's leader Kim Jong Un last Friday. They vowed to pursue denuclearization and a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, setting the mood for Kim's much-anticipated face-to-face encounter with US President Donald Trump.

But analysts have urged caution, warning that similar previous pledges have come to nothing, and that the North has yet to make clear what concessions it is willing to make with its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

All three of the neighbours are deeply involved with North Korea -- the South as its neighbour, key US ally Japan as a sometime target for its threats, and China as its key diplomatic backer and business partner.

Friday's summit, in which Kim and Moon exchanged smiles, handshakes and warm words in front of the world's cameras, was a marked contrast to the tensions of last year.

The North staged its most powerful nuclear test to date and launched missiles capable of reaching the US mainland as Kim and Trump traded threats of war and personal insults, sparking global security fears.

The thaw between the Koreas, triggered by the Winter Olympics in the South, has repercussions for the geopolitics of the region.

Japan has long maintained a hardline position on negotiations with Pyongyang but has found itself left on the sidelines.

With concerning growing in Tokyo over whether it should change tack, a hawkish Abe expressed a willingness to meet Kim -- a message which Moon relayed to the North's leader during the summit.

Kim said in response he was "willing to talk to Japan any time", Moon's office said on Sunday, adding the South's leader would be "happy to build a bridge" between the two nations.

But Moon's trip to Tokyo will be the first visit by a South Korean leader to Japan in more than six years, with relations between the two US allies marred by disputes over history and territory.</s>South Korea says it will remove propaganda-broadcasting loudspeakers from the border with North Korea. The announcement came three days after the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to work together to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and end hostile acts against each other along their border during their rare summit talks.

Seoul’s Defense Ministry said on Monday it will pull back dozens of its frontline loudspeakers tomorrow. It says Seoul expects Pyongyang to do the same.

Read | North Korea to align with South’s time zone as first practical step toward reconciliation

South Korea had turned off its loudspeakers ahead of Friday’s summit talks, and North Korea responded by halting its own broadcasts. Seoul had blasted propaganda messages and K-pop songs from border loudspeakers since the North’s fourth nuclear test in early 2016. The North quickly matched the South’s action with its own border broadcasts.

Meanwhile, North Korea’s chief ally China said its foreign minister will visit Pyongyang this week following the historic summit between the leaders of the two Koreas. The trip by Wang Yi comes as Beijing and Pyongyang continue an effort to repair ties that have suffered from tensions in recent years, and ahead of a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Leaders of South Korea, Japan and China will meet next week for a summit expected to focus on North Korea's nuclear program and other regional issues.

The three Asian countries have been holding regular trilateral summits since late 2008.

South Korea's presidential office said Tuesday that President Moon Jae-in will attend the May 9 meeting in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

The Japanese government also confirmed the meeting.

Moon's office says he will brief Abe and Li about the results of his recent summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

It says Moon also plans to discuss ways to boost three-way cooperation in achieving denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Chinese diplomat Wang Yi will travel to North Korea to meet with Kim Jong-un following the summit.