Kim says denuclearization “achievable” in second secret meeting with Xi

Kim Jong Un is racking up stamps in his passport. After years of isolation, the once hermitic despot has now travelled abroad three times in three months.

Following last month’s high-profile summit in South Korea, Kim traveled to China Monday for his second meeting with President Xi Jinping, having first met the Chinese leader at a top secret sit-down in Beijing in March.

This time Kim traveled to the north-eastern port city of Dalian for two days of talks with Xi, including a discussion about North Korean denuclearization.

“As long as relevant parties eliminate the hostile policy and security threats against North Korea, North Korea does not need to have nuclear weapons, and denuclearization is achievable,” Kim told Xi, the Chinese Xinhua news agency reported.

Kim added that he wanted to “build mutual trust” with the U.S., adding it would take “phased and synchronous measures in a responsible manner” to achieve denuclearization.

The agency said Xi hosted a welcome banquet for Kim, and the two leaders strolled along the coastline at a government guest house before lunching together Tuesday.

China is seen as North Korea’s closest political and economic ally, though the relationship has strained in recent months with Beijing succumbing to U.N. pressure to impose sanctions on Pyongyang over continued nuclear testing.

Kim is likely to have informed Xi about any developments arising from his historic meeting with South Korea President Moon Jae In.

In a tweet Tuesday morning, Donald Trump said he would be speaking to Xi about North Korea “where relationships and trust are building.”

Kim’s next international summit will be with the U.S. president.

Reports emerged from South Korea in recent days that Trump will meet with Kim in Singapore in the middle of June, soon after the G7 meeting in Canada.

An exact date for the summit could be announced on May 22 when Moon visits Trump at the White House.

Cover image: North Koraen Leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the Inter-Korean Summit at the Peace House on April 27, 2018 in Panmunjom, South Korea. (Korea Summit Press Pool/Getty Images)