North Korea leader Kim Jong Un will visit Beijing, Chinese state media says

The once-reclusive Kim Jong Un is planning another visit with foreign leaders: This time, in China, according to media in that country.

Chinese state media reported that Kim will make a two-day state visit to Beijing starting Tuesday.

Kim's trip follows his groundbreaking summit with President Donald Trump in Singapore last week that resulted in a surprise announcement of a U.S. suspension of military drills with its South Korean ally.

The South China Morning Post reported that the purpose of the trip is to brief Chinese President Xi Jinping on Kim's summit with Trump.

The visit comes amid strained economic relations between China and the U.S. On Monday, Trump threatened to slap new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods. It's unclear if Kim may be seeking leverage with China in the ongoing economic tug-of-war with the U.S.

Trump said the new tariffs, which come days after his administration leveled $50 billion in duties on a wide array of Chinese goods, were a response to the retaliatory trade barriers the Chinese government imposed Friday.

Kim has ruled North Korea for the past six years but did not make a foreign trip until March of this year, when he visited Beijing. He also visited the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian in May.

It is rare for state media from either Beijing or Pyongyang to announce a trip by North Korea's leader ahead of time or as it is happening. Kim's other trips to China this year were revealed after the visits were completed, CNN reported.

Security was tight Tuesday morning at the Beijing airport where paramilitary police prevented journalists from shooting photos. A motorcade was seen leaving the airport in vehicles that were not apparently carrying flags. The state media reports did not say if Kim had already arrived in Beijing.

The visit will be Kim's third in recent months to China, North Korea's main ally and a key source of trade and assistance.

After more than a half-century of hostility between their two countries,Trump and Kim signed a document in Singapore last week pledging "to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," but provided few details of how that might work.

The statement of renewed U.S.-North Korean cooperation capped a four-hour-plus summit in which Trump and Kim had nothing but nice things to say about each other as they finally came face-to-face. The summit comes less than a year after the pair threatened each other with nuclear annihilation.

South Korea said Tuesday that a joint military exercise scheduled with the U.S. has been suspended to support ongoing talks both countries have with North Korea.

“South Korea and the U.S. made the decision as we believe this will contribute to maintaining such momentum,” said Choi Hyun-soo, a Defense Ministry spokeswoman.

She spoke after the U.S. and South Korea announced that the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills slated for August had been called off.

Contributing: Associated Press

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