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Kim appears to have left Beijing for N. Korea
[Kyodo: Korea] A special North Korean train believed to be carrying the country's leader Kim Jong Il left Beijing on Thursday afternoon, a sign that he may have begun a trip back home after wrapping up a four-day visit to China.As was the case of Kim's previous visits to China, Chinese and North Korean state media are likely to report his latest visit for the first time once the train crosses the border. The train, which left Beijing Station around 4:30 p.m., is expected to cross the border into North Korea early Friday morning. A diplomatic source quoted a former senior Chinese Communist Party official as saying that Kim's ''visit to China is happening.'' The former official also acknowledged that photos and images capturing Kim on Monday in Dalian were those of him. It is unusual for a person related to the party to acknowledge facts ahead of the release of official reports. On Wednesday, Kim was believed to have met with President Hu Jintao, and the two are likely to have discussed the stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs and China's economic assistance to Pyongyang featuring increased investments and food and energy aid. The two may also have exchanged views on the sinking of a South Korean warship in late March, which Seoul suspects was torpedoed by North Korea. Pyongyang has denied any involvement in the incident, which left 40 crew members dead and six others missing. Kim was believed to have met with Hu and other members of the Chinese leadership for about five hours, including dinner, at the Great Hall of the People. Some South Korean media said Kim's third son and possible heir Kim Jong Un accompanied his father and may have been introduced to the Chinese leadership. But diplomatic circles in Beijing questioned such reports. There were signs that the 68-year-old North Korean leader would leave Beijing for home on Thursday. The Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where Kim was believed to have spent a night Wednesday, said it will accept reservations from the public from Friday. A hotel in the Chinese border city of Dandong, where the special train is expected to pass, said it was not accepting guests Thursday. The hotel, which stands by a steel bridge linking China and North Korea, is a good observation post for trains traveling between the two countries. On Thursday, a motorcade believed to be carrying Kim left the guesthouse at about 9:10 a.m. He was believed to have inspected a biotechnology research institute in the morning. Kim appeared to have stayed at the guesthouse in the afternoon, possibly holding talks with senior Chinese officials, because cars believed to have carried them were seen entering and leaving the guesthouse. Some sources had referred to the possibility that Kim and Hu on Thursday evening may watch a remake of the Chinese classic opera ''A Dream of Red Mansions,'' which North Korea's Phibada Opera Troupe will perform in Beijing from Thursday to Sunday. The North Korean leader arrived in Beijing by car on Wednesday afternoon after visiting Tianjin southeast of the capital, Dalian in Liaoning Province and Dandong in the same province. Kim arrived in Dandong from Pyongyang by special train early Monday. It is his first visit to China since January 2006 and fifth since becoming the country's top leader in 1998. Kim's visits to the two port cities of Dalian and Tianjin en route to Beijing indicate Pyongyang's willingness to prop up the economy through trade and investment in Rason, a special economic zone that North Korea designated as a special municipality in January, and other areas. North Korea quit the six-way denuclearization talks in April 2009 in protest at the U.N. Security Council's censure of what the country said was a rocket launch the same month but which was widely seen as a long-range missile test. In May the same year, Pyongyang fueled tensions by detonating a nuclear device for the second time, a move that resulted in increased U.N. sanctions on the country. North Korea has said it wants U.N. sanctions lifted and talks with the United States on a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-1953 Korean War before it rejoins the six-way talks. Posted by: Fred 2010-05-07 |
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