When North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hitched a ride on an Air China plane to his summit with Donald Trump in Singapore, the signal was clear: Beijing remains Pyongyang’s diplomatic wingman.
Mr. Kim had never flown so far from Pyongyang since coming to power in December 2011. North Korea’s ruling party newspaper pointedly published photos of Mr. Kim boarding the Air China Boeing 747.
North requested the plane: Geng Shuang
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Monday that North Korea had requested the plane.
Analysts said Beijing also had Mr. Kim's personal safety in mind given North Korea’s ageing fleet.