N. Korean leader passing through China by train

BEIJING, Mar 3, 2019, Yonhap. A special train carrying North Korean leader Km Jong-un passed through a train station in central China Sunday morning, as he was apparently en route to Pyongyang, informed sources here said, reported the Yonhap.

Kim left Dong Dang station in Vietnam by train on Saturday after a two-day summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi and an official visit to the Southeast Asian nation.

His train passed through Changsha, the capital of central China’s Hunan province, at around 9 a.m. (local time), according to the sources.

He appears to be taking the same route as when he traveled for more than 60 hours by train to Hanoi, despite earlier speculation that he might stop in Guangzhou, a port city northwest of Hong Kong.

It remains unclear whether Kim will visit Beijing to meet President Xi Jinping on his way back home.

If he skips Beijing, his train is expected to reach Dandong station and then cross the Yalu River, also known as the Amrok River, on Monday night or early Tuesday morning.

Pyongyang’s state media carried belated reports of Kim’s departure from Vietnam.

“He expressed satisfaction at the results of the visit and his heartfelt gratitude to the Vietnamese party, government and people for their kind and cordial reception,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

He left the Dong Dang station conveying “feelings of deep friendship and firm solidarity of the brotherly Vietnamese people with the Korean people,” it added.

During the official “goodwill” trip there, he had meetings with top Vietnamese officials, including talks with President Nguyen Phu Trong last Friday.

Kim is the first North Korean leader in 55 years to visit Vietnam. His late grandfather and founder, Kim Il-sung, traveled to the country in 1958 and 1964.