North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was confirmed to have met with Chinese President Xi Jingping in Beijing, China, marking the first time that Kim has traveled outside North Korea since becoming leader in 2011.
BBC reports that the meeting was initially declared to be unofficial by China. On Monday, an armored train was spotted en route from Pyongyang to Beijing; Kim Jong Un was speculated to have been on board.
State media from North Korea and China eventually confirmed on Wednesday that Kim was aboard that train, according to The Atlantic.
China’s state-run media, Xinhua News Agency, reports that both parties found the talks to be a success. Topics of discussion during their meeting included regional stability, relations between North Korea and China, and denuclearization.
Kim stated that North Korea has made efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and has proposed peace talks, according to Xinhua.
“It is our consistent stand to be committed to denuclearization on the peninsula, in accordance with the will of late President Kim Il Sung and late General Secretary Kim Jong Il,” he said.
The Xinhua report also shows that for Kim, denuclearization must come under certain conditions.
“The issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved, if South Korea and the United States respond to our efforts with goodwill [and] create an atmosphere of peace and stability while taking progressive and synchronous measures for the realization of peace,” Kim said, according to Xinhua.
South Korea has stated that it had no involvement in Kim’s trip to Beijing. Yoon Young-chain, Senior presidential press secretary told reporters that Seoul “will need to keep an eye on the situation with all possibilities in mind,” according to CNN.
Kim is also set to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April, and with President Trump in May.
President Trump has weighed in on the Beijing meeting, stating in a Twitter post: “For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility. Now there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity. Look forward to our meeting!”
