Chinese cameras show a more humble Kim Jong-un as he meets Xi Jinping
North Korean leader seen taking notes and listening attentively during meeting
Kim Jong-un’s visit to Beijing this week gave the world a rare glimpse of the North Korean leader doing something he normally leaves to others – diligently taking notes while Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke during their meeting.
Back home, Kim is famous for surrounding himself with note-taking generals and senior officials during tours of the hermit state, as pictured in North Korean media, and in line with a tradition that officials should heed the “on the spot” guidance of the country’s supreme leader.
But this was Kim’s first overseas trip since he took power in 2011, and he was projecting a far more humble image, after engaging in a war of words with US President Donald Trump over the North’s nuclear weapons programme that saw him just six months ago call Trump a “dotard”.
In lengthy footage aired by state broadcaster China Central Television on Wednesday, Kim – whose age is unknown but is believed to be about 34 – is seen listening attentively, his head lowered, and taking notes as Xi tells him they should cherish the bilateral relations built by the two nations’ forefathers.