South Korea's government confirmed on Saturday that Kim Jong-un was in China, his first visit in a year and his sixth since he took power in late 2011 after the death of his father. He was reported to have arrived in the border city of Dandong after crossing a newly opened bridge linking the two countries. North Korean state media had not immediately reported the visit, and China's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for confirmation.
The trip followed unverified social-media claims that Kim had suffered a serious brain haemorrhage, slipped into a coma, been taken to Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing and died, with his body allegedly returned in secret to North Korea. An unverified post was attributed to US-based Chinese dissident Wanjun Xie. No evidence was provided. South Korea's National Intelligence Service told ruling and opposition lawmakers in a closed-door meeting on Friday that the online claims were untrue.
The agency has previously warned that Kim could face a high risk of cardiovascular disease because of his weight, which it estimated at about 140kg. Intelligence officials said last month there were no signs of health abnormalities, citing an occasion when he ran up stairs during an inspection of a destroyer, and said dedicated medical personnel were monitoring him closely.
Kim has recently sought to strengthen ties with Beijing after years of prioritising relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has sent thousands of troops and conventional weapons to support Russia's war in Ukraine, potentially in exchange for military and economic assistance. The visit also comes as he seeks to align North Korea more closely with China and Russia against the United States in what he portrays as a "new Cold War".
Kim has maintained a hard line toward South Korea and rebuffed Trump's proposal to revive diplomatic talks that broke down in 2019. His government has called on Washington to abandon its "hostile policy" and drop demands for North Korea's denuclearisation as a precondition for renewed negotiations. The NIS told lawmakers last month that it saw a 50% possibility of a meeting between Trump and Kim on the sidelines of next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China.