North Korea's Kim asked China to bring early end to sanctions: Yomiuri

TOKYO - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un asked Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing in June to work towards bringing an early end to economic sanctions imposed on his country, Japan's Yomiuri newspaper reported on Sunday.

Kim told Xi that he wanted China's help to end the sanctions because it successfully concluded a summit between the United States and North Korea on June 12, the Yomiuri reported, citing unnamed sources close to the matter.

Xi said he would make the "utmost effort" in response to Kim's request, the Yomiuri said.

Kim made his third trip to China this year just a week after he met US President Donald Trump at the historic summit in Singapore.