KIM’S BREAKOUT MOMENT: China waited until Kim Jong Un’s armored train slipped safely back across the North Korean border before confirming the rampant rumors that Kim had made his first trip out of his isolated country since taking power six years ago. China Central Television showed video of Kim shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the start of secretive meetings that official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported came at the invitation of Xi. The television images also showed a grand banquet for Kim at China’s Great Hall of the People.

KIM’S MESSAGE: Xinhua quoted Kim as saying he was committed to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and open to dialogue with the United States. “It is our consistent stand to be committed to denuclearization on the peninsula, in accordance with the will of late President Kim Il-sung and late General Secretary Kim Jong Il,” Kim said, according to Xinhua. In a letter to the Chinese leader, published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim reportedly called for a “new era” in relations and said Xi had accepted “with pleasure” an invitation for a reciprocal visit to Pyongyang “at a convenient time.”