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China Leader to Visit N. Korea Next Week
BEIJING (AP) - China's President Hu Jintao will visit North Korea next week, amid international efforts to convince the isolated country to grow up and stop bothering the adults stop developing nuclear weapons, the Chinese government announced Friday.

Hu will begin a two-day trip to North Korea next Friday before visiting Vietnam Oct. 31-Nov.2, China Central Television said. China is North Korea's last major ally and a key supplier of food and energy aid.

Hu was invited to the North by its leader, Kim Jong Il, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Kim, who rarely ventures out of his country for fear of being whacked, last visited Beijing in April 2004 amid tight secrecy.

China last week congratulated North Korea on the 60th anniversary of its ruling communist party and promised closer supervision cooperation. A telegram from Hu at the time said Chinese-North Korean relations were a ``precious treasure'' that should be developed. China's Vice Premier Wu Yi and Commerce Minister Bo Xilai were in Pyongyang to participate in the anniversary celebrations. Hu's telegram praised Kim's leadership and said stronger ties would help to maintain regional peace and stability.
That telegram and three bucks will get you a bowl of soup.

Posted by: Steve White 2005-10-21
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=132763