North Korea's Kim seeking lifeline in China

Analysts expect a visit to add new life to now dormant international nuclear disarmament talks hosted by Beijing that have been boycotted by Pyongyang for over a year.

The North's official media has not mentioned the trip and did not announce his 2006 visit until after Kim's armoured train crossed the border and he was safely back in North Korea.

(Writing by Jon Herskovitz in Seoul; Additional reporting by Chris Buckley in Beijing and Christine Kim and Cheon Jong-woo in Seoul; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher and Megan Goldin)