Detoxology herbal medicine Urology  Medical fellowship  Usmle Trauma doctor  Traumatology  Transport Medicine  Transplantology  Transfusion Medicine  Toxicology  Robotic surgery  Trauma surgery  Plastic Surgery  Bariatric surgery  Surgical Oncology  Laparoscopic surgery  General Surgery  Vascular Surgery  Thoracic Surgery  Pediatric Surgery  Medical students  Sports Medicine  Rheumatology   Radiotherapy  Radiotheraphy  Radiology  Pulmonology   Public Health Emergency Medicine  Endocrinology  Family Medicine  Flebology  Forensic Medicine  Gastroenterology  Geriatrics  obstetrics  Gynecology  Hematology  Hypertensiology  Internal Medicine  Laboratory Diagnosis  Medical Microbiology  Medical Rehabilitation  Medical informatics  Neonatology  Nephrology  Neurosurgery  Neurology  Nuclear Medicine  Occupational Medicine  Ophthalmology  Orthopedics  Otorhinolaryngology  Palliative Medicine  Pathology  Pediatrics  Physiotherapy  Proctolog y Psychiatry  detoxology  Aesthetic medicine surgical anatomy  Anesthesiology  Angiology  Audiology  Balneology  Cardiac Surgery  Cardiology  Clinical Genetics  Clinical Immunology  Clinical Pharmacology  Dentistry  Dental Surgery  Maxillofacial Surgery  Implant Dentistry  Orthodontics  Periodontics  Prosthodontics  Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics  Diabetology Medical Exams    MRCS FRCS MRCP MRCOG MRCPCH MRCPGP  MCCEE  MJDF/MFDS IELTS  Case Study
Pyongyang has announced that North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, DID visit Beijing this week, and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Beijing has also confirmed this surprise trip, which is the first for a North Korean leader in some 7 years.
For more on this latest development, we now connect live with Kwon Jang-ho, reporting from Seoul's unification ministry.
Jang-ho, can you give us more details on the announcement.
Good afternoon, Mark.
North Korean and Chinese state media have announced that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has indeed visited Beijing after being invited for an informal visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Kim was said to have left for Beijing on Sunday, and arrived in the Chinese capital on Monday.
He was accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju , as well as a host of senior officials, including familiar names such as Choi Ryong-hae, Ri Su-yong and Kim Yong-chul.
This confirms the recent reports that the armored train spotted in Beijing over the last few days had carried the North Korean leader on board.
This is the first time Kim Jong-un has visited China or even left the country since he came to power in 2011.
That is quite a development, considering relations between the two sides are not said to have been great in recent years, with North Korea continuing to test nuclear weapons against Beijing's wishes. What are the two leaders said to have discussed?
You're right, the two sides haven't had the best of relationships recently, Kim Jong-un even snubbing a meeting with a senior Beijing official who visited Pyongyang just a few months ago.
But the state media reports today repeatedly mention that the two leaders reaffirmed the importance and closeness of their relationship.
The meeting is being seen as a way for North Korea to garner support before the upcoming summits with South Korea and the U.S. and as a way for Beijing to be involved again, after its role as mediator was sidelined in recent months.
Xi is said to have told Kim that he thought highly of the visit, while Kim said it was out of, quote, "comradeship and moral responsibility" that he came because of the recent developments on the Korean peninsula.
Kim mentioned the upcoming summits, saying that the regime is willing to denuclearize IF Seoul and Washington respond to North Korea's goodwill.
The media reports also said Xi hosted a welcoming banquet for Kim and his wife on Monday, and watched an art performance together.
The two sides do seem to be looking to show that they are on good terms again.
Back to you Mark.