AsiaBriefs

Kim Jong Un 'makes surprise China visit' BEIJING• • Mr Kim Jong Un has made a surprise visit to Beijing on his first known trip outside North Korea since taking power in 2011, three people with knowledge of the visit said.

Further details of the visit, including how long Mr Kim would stay and who he would meet, were not immediately available.

A special train may have carried Mr Kim through the north-eastern Chinese border city of Dandong, Japan's Kyodo News said earlier. BLOOMBERG

Taiwan jets shadow China's near island TAIPEI•• • Taiwan yesterday sent jets to shadow China air force fighter planes as they flew through the Bashi Channel to the south of the island, its Defence Ministry said, the latest incident to add to tension between Taipei and Beijing.

China sent an unspecified number of Xian H-6 bombers, Su-30 fighter jets and Y-8 transport aircraft over the waterway on their way to the West Pacific Ocean, the Taiwan ministry said. They were followed till they returned to base.

The Chinese military movements come during a time of heightened tension and follows warnings by Chinese President Xi Jinping against Taiwan separatism. REUTERS

•Moon's bid to change president's powers SEOUL•• • South Korean President Moon Jae In yesterday proposed weakening the powers of his office and lowering the voting age in a package of constitutional reforms, while allowing the head of state to be re-elected.

This has to be approved by Parliament before being put to a referendum. Its key measure would see the single five-year presidency cut to a four-year term, but with one opportunity to stand for re-election.

AGENCE FRANCE -PRESSE

Shanghai puts new hukou policy on hold SHANGHAI• • Shanghai has put on hold a new policy allowing police to revoke the "hukou", or household registration, of the city's citizens who hold foreign passports or residency permits, following an outcry.

The Shanghai Public Security Bureau said on Sunday it would refrain from enforcing the policy as implementation rules had not been enacted and the meaning remained undefined. REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 27, 2018, with the headline AsiaBriefs. Subscribe