It has been a strange couple of weeks for isolated North Korea. The so-called “Hermit Kingdom” sent a high-ranking delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and even agreed to walk in the opening ceremony with their neighbors to the south under a unified flag and field a joint women’s ice hockey team.

Then came a thank-you card in which Kim thanked the south for “specially prioritizing” the north’s attendance at the games and a photo that observers described as unusually informal for the communist nation. And then he invited a South Korean delegation to dinner.

Finally, something almost entirely unexpected in the war of words between the North Korean strongman and the president of the United States, Kim invited Donald Trump to talks and he accepted.

Now the prognosticators are prognosticating. Who has the upper hand? Is this all a trick? Is Kim buying time? Should Trump legitimize Kim by agreeing to high-level talks?
• U.S. sells out Kurds, reminding America why it should just stay home
• Let students make financial decisions in California schools And that brings us to our Question of the Week for readers. Should Trump talk to Kim Jong-un?

Do you think talks with North Korea are worth Trump’s time? North Korea claims it will halt its nuclear and missile testing as a sign of good faith. Is that enough? Should the United States go to the talks with or without preconditions? Is demanding denuclearization a priority? Is it realistic? Or should the two nations still technically at war just talk? Seek to warm relations and build trust with hopes of some larger agreement in the near future?

Do you think Kim is playing Trump? Or is it the other way around? North Korea is notorious for reneging on agreements. Should we believe it is being serious? Or is it more of the same?

Did the sanctions work to bring Kim to the table? Was it Trump’s tough talk? Are these just diplomatic games? Or something else? Do you think talking will bring us closer to war or lessen its chances? Do you trust Trump to handle this?

Email your thoughts to opinion@scng.com. Please include your full name and city or community of residence. Provide a daytime phone number (it will not be published). Or, if you prefer, share your views in the comments section that accompanies this article online.</s>The Trump administration has been thrown another curveball ahead of potential historic talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

After two days of speculation, China announced that the North Korean regime's reclusive leader traveled to Beijing for bilateral talks with President Xi Jinping. Kim made the international trip by train in what is believed to be his first known journey abroad since assuming power in 2011.

Following Kim's visit, China said its isolated neighbor reaffirmed promises to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and meet with Trump. The North, on the other hand, continued its public silence on both matters.

"Comparing the Chinese and North Korean readouts of the meeting, I'm struck once again by the absence of any mention of the nuclear issue in the North Korean version," Joshua Pollack, senior research associate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Calif., told CNBC.

"The Chinese version says that Kim Jong Un reaffirmed North Korea's commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Pollack said. "The North Korean version conspicuously fails to confirm this or any of the rest of the Chinese account of the leaders' exchanges."

Reacting to the news, Trump tweeted Wednesday that "there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right" and "Kim looks forward to meeting me."

And if the North is willing to give up its nuclear weapons, the U.S. will most likely be tasked to give the reclusive state something big in return.

"The key question the world needs to ask is this: what does Kim Jong Un want for those nukes?" Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest, told CNBC.

"What would Kim Jong Un demand from the United States and South Korea for giving up its nuclear weapons? Would they demand, for example, the ending of the U.S.-South Korea alliance and the removal of all U.S. forces from the Korean Peninsula? Could Kim demand America also denuclearize, as has been the case in the past?" Kazianis added.

"This is all just the beginning of what will be a historic few weeks in Asia. Either history will be made, or we will be back at the brink all over again," he said.</s>BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was part of a secretive delegation that arrived in Beijing by train on Monday and left on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the matter and foreign media reports.

The visit, which would be Kim’s first known journey abroad since he assumed power in 2011, was not announced by North Korea or China and has remained shrouded in mystery.

South Korea’s left-leaning Hankyoreh newspaper reported that Kim had traveled to Beijing for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday afternoon before leaving for a “third location”, which could be in China, on Tuesday. It did not cite specific sources.

The conservative South Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing an unnamed senior intelligence official, said the delegation had included Kim, and that he had left to return to North Korea.

Kim is due to hold separate summits with China’s rivals, South Korea and the United States, and analysts say a visit to Beijing could be preparation for those.

Beijing has traditionally been the closest ally of secretive and isolated North Korea, but ties have been frayed by North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and China’s backing of tough U.N. sanctions in response.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman deflected a question on whether Kim, his sister or some other senior North Korean was visiting.

“At present I have no understanding of the situation you mention. If there is news we will release it,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular daily briefing.

Diplomatic sources in Beijing said a senior North Korean official was in town, but they did not know exactly who.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said it “kinda looked like” Kim went to Beijing, but told reporters at the Pentagon, “I don’t know.”

A senior U.S. official who follows North Korea closely said the available evidence suggested Kim had gone to meet Xi, but stressed that has not been confirmed.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said China had not confirmed who had visited, but added, “there certainly was a lot of fanfare ... a lot of protocol.”

“We look forward to hearing about it and we’ll leave it for the Chinese to announce who was visiting,” she told a regular news briefing, adding that the United States was continuing with its plans for a summit with Kim by the end of May.

A Reuters reporter saw a convoy leave Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guest House, where senior foreign leaders often stay, and drive north on Tuesday morning. It was unclear where the convoy was headed.

Later, a Reuters journalist saw what was believed to be the delegation’s train pulling out of a Beijing station. The group was reported to have arrived in China on Sunday after crossing from North Korea at the border city of Dandong.

One source with ties to China’s leadership said earlier it was possible the visitor was Kim’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong. She visited South Korea during the Winter Olympics last month, paving the way for a summit between the two Koreas.

The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was unlikely Kim Jong Un would have again sent his sister given the importance of a meeting with Xi, which would underscore Kim’s standing as a world leader.

South Korean news agency Newsis reported that Kim Yo Jong and the North’s ceremonial leader, Kim Yong Nam, were visiting Beijing, citing an unidentified North Korea-related source in the Chinese capital.

The U.S. official said Xi and Kim Jong Un had reason to meet in advance of Kim’s meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April and possibly U.S. President Donald Trump in May.

“Xi has met Trump, and in many respects learned how to deal with him better than some people here do,” the official said.

“At the same time, despite the recent tensions, he needs to know what Kim has in mind for dealing with the South and the U.S., and he still has a lot of leverage with the North.”

A senior South Korean official said improving ties between North Korea and China would be a positive sign before the planned summits.

In Geneva, meanwhile, North and South Korean members of parliament shook hands and shared a toast to “peace” on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said, suggesting relations between their two countries are thawing.

South Korean politician Young Chin shook hands with Ri Jong Hyok, director of North Korea’s National Reunification Institute and deputy head of its Supreme People’s Assembly, at the annual assembly in Geneva of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

While China, which remains North Korea’s biggest trading partner in spite of recent sanctions, has not confirmed any North Korean visit, it has not totally censored speculation.

Posts on Chinese social media have talked about the possibility that Kim Jong Un was in China, some citing family members in Dandong. The rail journey between Dandong and Beijing covers more than 1,100 km (680 miles). It takes at least 14 hours by ordinary service, according to Chinese railway timetables.

Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, met then-president Jiang Zemin in China in 2000 before a summit between the two Koreas in June that year. That visit was seen at the time as reaffirmation of close ties with Beijing.

“North Korea likely wants to confirm its relationship with China and believes it has some leverage with which it can ask for things from China,” said Yoo Ho-yeol, professor of North Korean studies at Seoul’s Korea University.

“If North Korea speaks with the United States on its own, it might feel it is at a disadvantage but, if it has China as an ally, Pyongyang may think it will be able to protect its interests and profits during the summits.”</s>SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to China this week, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday.

Kim visited China from Sunday to Wednesday with his wife, Ri Sol Ju, Yonhap said. It cited North Korea without elaborating.</s>Washington: US President Donald Trump today said that he may “hold” the recently agreed trade deal with South Korea in an effort to gain leverage over his scheduled meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. “I may hold it up till after a deal is made with North Korea,” he said in his address on infrastructure in Ohio. This week, Trump said, his administration “secured a wonderful (trade) deal” with South Korea.

“We were in a deal that was a horror show. It was going to produce 2,00,000 jobs. And it did — for them,” he said amid laughter from the audience. “That was a Hillary Clinton special, I hate to say. ‘This will produce 2,00,000 jobs’. She was right. But it was for them, it wasn’t for us,” Trump said. The new trade deal agreed upon is “going to level the playing field on steel and cars and trucks coming into this country”, said the US President as he told the audience that he might hold it till he has a deal with North Korea.

“Does everybody understand that? You know why, right? You know why? Because it’s a very strong card. And I want to make sure everyone is treated fairly. And were moving along very nicely with North Korea. We’ll see what happens,” he said. “Certainly, the rhetoric has calmed down just a little bit, wouldn’t you say?” Trump asked the audience referring to the sudden stopping of rhetoric from North Korea. Trump has accepted an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for a meeting in May.

“We’ll see how it all turns out. Maybe it’ll be good and maybe it won’t. And if it’s no good, we’re walking. And if it’s good, we will embrace it. But it’s going to be very interesting over the next period of time. And South Korea has been wonderful. But we’ll probably hold that deal up for a little while, see how it all plays out,” Trump said.</s>SHANGHAI, March 28 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited China from Sunday to Wednesday on an unofficial visit, China's state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

The visit was Kim's first known journey abroad since he assumed power in 2011 and is believed by analysts to serve as preparation for upcoming summits with South Korea and the United States.

The report did not say whether the two sides discussed North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, which has led to tough U.N. sanctions, backed by China. (Reporting by David Stanway Editing by Paul Tait)</s>North Korea’s first lady has become an instant hit in China with her fashionable looks after accompanying her husband Kim Jong-un in a surprise visit to China, while Chinese internet censors quickly cracked down on discussions of her looks and dresses.

Ri Sol-ju, the mysterious young wife of the totalitarian leader and a former star singer, was filmed by state television in at least three different outfits during their two-day stay in Beijing.

William Tang Tat-chi, a Hong Kong fashion designer, said the style was “subtle” but not conservative.

The Beijing visit was a rare public appearance by Ri in a diplomatic setting as she has mainly been seen at domestic events.

The visit to China was the first overseas trip by both Kim and Ri since the North Korean leader came to power in 2011 and came ahead of a planned summit with US President Donald Trump.

Many Chinese internet users praised Ri’s looks and compared her style to that of Peng Liyuan, China’s first lady, before censors rolled on to remove nearly all discussions from social media platforms.

“Ri Sol-ju is indeed beautiful and amiable. I can tell she would be good at ‘first-lady diplomacy’, better than Kim’s sister,” one internet user commented on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.

Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of Kim Jong-un, recently represented the country at the Winter Olympics in South Korea, and there had been speculation that she was the mystery visitor to Beijing before her brother’s presence was confirmed.

Another commented that Ri had “a powerful presence”, looked prettier than Peng, even though Peng dressed more fashionably.

Others compared Ri’s look with that of South Korean celebrities, saying she was “as pretty as Song Hye-kuo”, a popular actress in China.

Ri remains an enigmatic figure and little is known about her for certain. Kim announced their marriage in 2012, and some analysts believe Ri was born in September 1989, which would make her 28. The couple is believed to have had three children.

In the welcoming ceremony, Ri wore a camel cropped jacket with a matching midi skirt and court shoes. She also wore a necklace, ear studs, and a shiny pink and gold butterfly-shaped brooch.

Peng, a famous singer in her own right, was dressed in a white coat dress with black ink patterns.

During a visit to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ri wore a white jacket and an apple green dress with a brown flower-shaped ribbon brooch and a nude leather clutch.

At a lunch with Xi and Peng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where Kim stayed, Ri changed into an ivory two-piece dress with floral decorations on the collar and soft frilled sleeves.

Tang said although the style of Ri’s two looks were “outdated”, it was still impressive considering she came from a totalitarian country where access to fashion was limited.

Search results of “Ri Sol-ju” remained blocked on Weibo as of midday on Wednesday, and most of the comments under news reports of the pair’s trip had been removed.

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.</s>BEIJING: Speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was in Beijing for his first ever foreign trip was rife Tuesday after Japanese media reported the arrival and departure of a special train met by an honour guard.

Heightened security at possible venues for a high-level meeting, motorcades driven under police escort, and a non-denial from Chinese authorities also fuelled the belief that Kim had come to pay his respects to President Xi Jinping.

If confirmed, it would mark Kim's first trip abroad since coming to power in 2011 and signal an intriguing twist in a rapid diplomatic thaw that has opened the door to separate summits between Kim and the presidents of South Korea and the United States.

Japan's Kyodo news agency reported the train's departure from a Beijing station but said it was not clear if Kim was aboard, a day after its arrival sparked rampant speculation about the mystery passenger's identity.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying side-stepped a request to confirm if Kim or another high-level North Korean official was visiting, saying she was "not aware" of the situation.

"If we have information, we will publish it," Hua said, while adding that China was willing to work with North Korea to "continue to play a positive and constructive role in order to realise the denuclearisation of the peninsula."

Some analysts had suggested China -- the North's only major ally -- had been sidelined by Pyongyang's approaches to Seoul and Washington, but a visit by Kim would put Beijing firmly back at the centre of the diplomatic scrum.

Bill Bishop, publisher of the Sinocism China Newsletter, said Xi likely wanted to meet with Kim before a summit with US President Donald Trump, which could take place in May.

"They're concerned about being left out, with the North Koreans directly cutting a deal with the Americans that doesn't necessarily reflect Chinese interests," Bishop told AFP.

At the Diaoyutai guest house, where Kim's late father Kim Jong Il stayed during his visits to Beijing, there was an unusually heavy police presence with officers stationed every 50-100 metres in front of the imposing compound.

An AFP photographer saw a motorcade of limousines leave the guest house under a police escort on Tuesday morning.

There was also heightened security at two possible venues for a high-level meeting -- the Great Hall of the People and Zhongnanhai, the central leadership compound next to Beijing's Forbidden City.

South Korean media speculated that the visitor might also have been Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong, or the country's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam.

The mystery began after Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV showed footage of a train -- similar to that used for foreign visits by Kim Jong Il -- pulling in to Beijing Station and being met by a military honour guard and a convoy of black limousines.

China's Weibo micro-blog was censoring searches for Kim Jong Un's name and variations on it Tuesday. Beijing often tightens news controls during sensitive political periods.

South Korean broadcaster SBS TV said that guests at a hotel in the border city of Dandong, overlooking the train link from China to North Korea, had been asked to leave and curtains were drawn across the hotel windows.

Kim Jong Il, who was known to be fearful of flying, visited China several times on his private, armoured train. His visits were confirmed by Chinese and North Korean state media only after he had left the country.

The younger Kim has not undertaken any official trip abroad since taking power following his father's death in 2011. And he has yet to host a single head of state, having snubbed the president of Mongolia who visited Pyongyang in 2013.

In Washington, the White House said it was unable to confirm Kim's presence in Pyongyang and the government in Seoul said only that it was closely monitoring the situation.

For decades Beijing has been Pyongyang's key diplomatic protector and main source of trade and aid, but their relationship has soured in recent years.

Kim broke with tradition by not travelling to Beijing to pay his respects to Xi after the Chinese leader came to power, and Beijing has become increasingly frustrated with its neighbour's nuclear weapon programme -- showing a new willingness to agree to, and enforce, tougher UN sanctions.

At the same time, Beijing fears the collapse of the regime in Pyongyang and the instability it would bring, potentially sending waves of refugees into China and the possibility of US troops stationed on its border in a unified Korea.

High-level inter-Korean talks are scheduled for Thursday to pave the way for a summit between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April. Discussions have also begun on a possible summit with Trump in May.</s>Trump said Xi told him that his meeting with Kim went "very well" and that "KIM Looks forward to his meeting with me." He added that sanctions on North Korea will continue in the meantime.

The President also tweeted optimism that Kim will "do what is right for his people and for humanity. Look forward to our meeting!"

The White House said Tuesday night that the Chinese government called to brief them on Kim's visit. The briefing included a "personal message" from Xi to Trump, the White House said, though it declined to provide further details.

"We see (Kim's visit to China) as further evidence that our campaign of maximum pressure is creating the appropriate atmosphere for dialogue with North Korea," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

The North Korean dictator left the Chinese capital Beijing early Tuesday after days of meetings between top officials in the country. Kim's visit was not publicly announced until after he had left the country. The White House announced earlier this month that Trump had accepted an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to meet. North Korea has yet to make an official comment on the proposed meeting. Trump accepted the invitation from Kim when a South Korean delegation delivered it verbally in Washington. Should the leaders of the two nations sit down, it would be the first time a sitting US President has met with the leader of the reclusive Asian nation.</s>SEOUL (Reuters) - A senior Chinese official visiting South Korea said on Thursday North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s visit to Beijing this week should help ease tensions and lead to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

“We believe (Kim’s) visit will help the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, ensure peace and security of the Korean peninsula and resolve problems regarding the peninsula through political negotiations and discussions,” Yang Jiechi said in opening remarks during a meeting with South Korea’s National Security Office head, Chung Eui-yong.

Yang is expected to meet other security and diplomatic officials and brief them on Kim’s visit. The Chinese envoy is also scheduled to meet President Moon Jae-in on Friday.
The governments of China and North Korea both confirm that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing during the past four days. China states that North Korea is "committed to denuclearization" and willing to hold a summit with the United States.