Kim in Beijing for talks

BEIJING, Jan 08 (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 US 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 US 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.

China's official Xinhua News Agency issued a nearly identical report.

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 US and North Korea look to settle the North's decades-long pursuit of a nuclear arsenal.

The US 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 US 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 US 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 US 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.