North Korea's Kim may have entered China: report

SEOUL (Reuters) - One of North Korea's special armored trains used to carry Kim Jong-il arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong early Saturday, indicating the reclusive leader may be on the move, Yonhap news agency reported.

There was no indication if Kim was on the train, an unnamed government source told Yonhap in a report that comes after a South Korean presidential spokeswoman said this week there were signs Kim may soon travel to China.

Kim's trips to China, his destitute and isolated state's biggest benefactor and the closest thing it can claim as a major ally, have often led to moves that decrease the security threat Pyongyang poses to the economically vibrant region.

A visit would bode well for reviving dormant international talks hosted by Beijing on ending Pyongyang's atomic ambitions in return for aid to prop up the North's broken economy and better global standing, analysts said.

Kim's rare trips abroad are usually shrouded in secrecy and his state's official media does not report on them until his journey is over and he is safely back in Pyongyang.

(Reporting by Kim Yeon-hee and Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)