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Japanese media are reporting that a special North Korean train has arrived in Beijing under unusually heavy security.
It has sparked speculation a senior delegation — or even leader Kim Jong-un himself — might have been on board, particularly since the green-and-yellow-train appeared to resemble one used by Mr Kim's late father Kim Jong Il to travel to Beijing in 2011.
If Mr Kim was on board, it would be the first time he had left North Korea since becoming leader in late 2011 (as far as we know, at least).
Japanese television network NTV and public broadcaster NHK reported the arrival of the train, citing posts on Chinese social media:
Former ABC correspondent Stephen McDonell, now with BBC News, tweeted that whoever was on board had "quite a motorcade":
NTV showed black limousines waiting at the train station, and rows of Chinese soldiers marching on what appeared to be a train platform.
Heavy security was reported at the Friendship Bridge before the train passed from North Korea to China, and there were reports of it passing through several stations on the way from North Korea to Beijing.
A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said she was not aware of the situation, while North Korea's state-run media had no reports of a delegation traveling to China.
Mr Kim is expected to have a summit meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April and with US President Donald Trump by May, but there had been no word of any planned visit to China.
China has been one of North Korea's most important allies, but relations have grown chilly following Mr Kim's development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
Nevertheless, China is believed to be a likely venue for the planned meeting between Mr Kim and Mr Trump.
The White House said the US could not confirm reports Mr Kim was visiting China.
However, spokesman Raj Shah reiterated Mr Trump's plans to meet with Kim, saying the US-led international pressure campaign against Pyongyang "has paid dividends and has brought the North Koreans to the table".
ABC/AP
Topics: world-politics, china, korea-democratic-peoples-republic-of, japan