Strict censorship of China's internet and increased security in Beijing on Tuesday has fuelled intense speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jon-un was making a secretive visit to the Chinese capital ahead of talks with Donald Trump. Amid reports that the visit may have even been concluded after only one day, Chinese officials continued to be tight-lipped, however, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying only: "If there is news, we will release it." Huge numbers of security were deployed around venues which are commonly used by Chinese president Xi Jinping to welcome foreign guests, a day after Japanese media reported that a senior level North Korean official was visiting Beijing. The senior official had arrived on a 21-car train, similar to the kind that Mr Kim's late father, Kim Jong Il, rode when he visited Beijing in 2011, prompting speculation that the current North Korean leader was making a visit. Chinese authorities moved to wipe reference to Kim or the reported visit from the Internet on Tuesday, censoring his name, 'North Korea' and also, Kim Fatty the Third, the name which Chinese web users use to ridicule the young, portly leader. The train used by Kim Jong-il during a visit to China in 2010 Credit: Reuters Phrases which include variances of the nickname - such as "Fatty Fatty Fatty has come" and "Fatty Fatty Fatty Beijing" - also appear to have been banned from the Twitter-like Weibo service. On Monday evening a convoy entered Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guest House, where senior foreign leaders often stay on visits to the Chinese capital. The White House says Mr Trump plans to meet Kim Jong-un "by the end of May" Credit: AP The convoy then departed the compound just before 11am on Tuesday morning. Local security and the paramilitary police stood guard as unidentified men in plainclothes attempted to prevent photographers from taking pictures. There had been reports of tourists being moved away from Tiananmen Square, near the Great Hall of the People, on Monday. Chinese leaders also often welcome foreign guests in the cavernous Mao-era building. Bloomberg reported on Monday that Mr Kim had arrived in the Chinese capital, citing three unnamed sources, however no fresh media reports echoed that information on Tuesday. There was unusual activity reported around Beijing Railway station on Monday when the train arrived, and again on Tuesday, when Japan's Kyodo News reported that the train carrying a senior North Korean official had left Beijing. North Korea | Inside the dysfunctional Kim family Past visits by Kim Jong Il to China were surrounded in secrecy, with Beijing only confirming his presence after he had crossed the border by train back into North Korea.
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