Kim Jong-un's visit to China: Will it catapult North Korean leader to global centrestage?

For a regime obsessed with secrecy, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's decision to travel to Beijing on a distinctive green armoured train was an all-but-dead giveaway that he was making his first journey abroad since assuming power in 2011.

Kim Jong-un pledged to denuclearise and meet U.S. officials, China said on Wednesday after his historic meeting with President Xi Jinping, who promised China would uphold its friendship with its isolated neighbour.