North Korea is denying a Japanese newspaper report that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s third son and heir apparent secretly visited China.

China’s Global Times English daily cited an official from the North’s embassy in Beijing as saying that the Asahi Shimbun’s report on Kim Jong-un’s secret visit was groundless. The official went on to accuse the Japanese media of fabricating information.

In a regular news briefing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang also denied the rumored visit, saying that the Chinese government is not aware of the situation.

The Japanese paper reported Tuesday that the junior Kim visited Beijing as a special envoy and met with Chinese President Hu Jin-tao last week.