North Korea's Kim Jong Un travels to China for first foreign trip since taking power

Show Caption Hide Caption Raw: Beijing motorcade amid Kim Jong Un rumors There's speculation in Beijing that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be visiting. A heavily guarded motorcade was spotted and a state guesthouse has tight security. A Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman said she was not aware of the situation. (March 27)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was confirmed Wednesday to be in China for a historic visit, traveling via a mysterious armored train for a rendezvous that so far has been cloaked in secrecy.

After days of international speculation, Beijing officials said the reclusive leader had journeyed into China, crossing the border by rail. It is Kim's first-ever trip outside of his own country since taking power in late 2011.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Kim met with President Xi Jinping in Beijing at the Chinese leader’s request. The visit is a precursor to another much-anticipated meeting later this year between Kim and President Trump.

Xinhua said Kim's "unofficial visit" was from Sunday to Wednesday.

North Korean state TV aired a 40-minute report on the summit between Kim and Xi on Wednesday, but without any video of the meetings. Footage released by China Central Television showed a reserved Kim sitting at a long table with Xi.

Kim said he aimed to meet with Chinese officials, enhance strategic communication, and deepen the traditional friendship between the two nations on the trip, Xinhua reported. He said he hoped to meet with Xi often.

Kim said the situation on the Korean Peninsula situation is developing rapidly and many important changes have taken place, and that he felt he should inform Xi in person, according to Xinhua.

Xi and Kim held talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan hosted a banquet for Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju, Xinhua said. They also watched an art performance together, Xinhua said.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the Chinese government contacted the U.S. to alert them about the trip. The briefing included a “personal message from President Xi to President Trump,” which was conveyed to the president, Sanders said. She did not say what that message entails.

North Korea: 'Self confidence,' not sanctions led to easing tensions

Related: Talks between Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un will soon face major test

More: 5 things to know about the U.S.-North Korea relationship

She stressed that the U.S. has been in close contact with South Korea and Japan and sees the development “as further evidence that our campaign of maximum pressure is creating the appropriate atmosphere for dialogue with North Korea.”

Analysts say Kim would have felt a need to consult with his country’s traditional ally ahead of his planned meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and, eventually, Trump.

The North’s diplomatic outreach came after an unusually provocative year when it conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date and three ICBM tests designed to target the U.S. mainland.

A 21-car train with green paint and yellow stripes, similar to the train Kim's late father Kim Jong Il rode to China in 2011, entered Beijing on Monday, sparking speculation Kim was visiting.

Chinese officials had initially been mum on the visit, and North Korea's state media made no mention of any type of delegation visiting China.

Trump and Kim agreed to meet sometime in the next several weeks to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. As part of the deal, North Korea agreed to suspend missiles and nuclear weapons tests and to not object publicly to joint military drills held by the U.S. and South Korea, the White House said.

The meeting would be the first between a U.S. president and a leader of the reclusive nation. Delegates from North and South Korea and the United States met last week in Finland to discuss issues ahead of the proposed summit.

Clouding the upcoming North-South Korea meeting, however, could be the annual U.S.-South Korea military exercises that have consistently outraged Kim. The joint drills, which were postponed during the Winter Olympics in South Korea, are scheduled to begin next week.

North Korea has been economically battered by a series of international sanctions. While the Trump administration has claimed the sanctions forced North Korea to talk, the North's state media credited the nation's strength and confidence.

“The great change in the North-South relations is not an accidental one but a noble fruition made thanks to (North Korea’s) proactive measure, warm compatriotism and will for defending peace,” North Korea's state media said.

The train that Kim took, if it is indeed the same train used by his father, is a story in and of itself.

During Kim Jong Il's reign, the train saw somewhat frequent use around the country and on occasional trips to China and Russia. The late Kim, who famously hated flying and had a penchant for a playboy lifestyle, is said to have decked the train out for lavish parties, bouts of heavy drinking and karaoke on his rail journeys.

According to an account published in 2002 by Konstantin Pulikovsky, a Russian official who accompanied Kim Jong ll on a three-week trip to Moscow in 2001, the train carried cases of Bordeaux and Beaujolais from Paris. Passengers could feast on live lobster and pork barbecue while traveling to top-secret locations.

Here’s why Trump meeting Kim is a huge deal President Trump shocked the world, accepting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's invitation to discuss a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. It’s historic and high-stakes.

Contributing: Jane Onyanga-Omara, Jim Michaels; Associated Press