North Korean leader expected to visit Beijing
By Christopher Bodeen |
May 5, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong Il toured an industrial zone and met local officials in northeastern China yesterday, reports said.
No official announcements have been made about Kim's trip, his first journey abroad in years. He is expected to meet President Hu Jintao and other leaders.
Kim was seen by reporters in the port city of Dalian yesterday getting into a car and being driven away in a 10-vehicle motorcade.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said he visited factories in an industrial zone in Dalian, where Japanese and South Korean firms have operations.
Nuke weapons
Japanese and South Korean media then reported he left Dalian by road at around 4pm headed for the city of Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province that borders North Korea.
They said Kim was dining with provincial officials and would continue by train to Beijing.
The trip comes amid speculation that North Korea may heed calls from China and elsewhere to return to negotiations on ending the country's nuclear weapons program.
Overshadowing the visit, however, was speculation Kim's government may have torpedoed the South Korean warship in March.
In Seoul yesterday, President Lee Myung-bak said the sinking of the Cheonan warship was not a "simple accident," as officials inched closer to blaming North Korea for the incident, in which 46 sailors were killed.
Lee made it clear for the first time that he saw a North Korean link in the sinking, which followed an explosion in disputed waters near the Koreas' maritime border.
If South Korea declares Pyongyang responsible for the sinking, it could look to China to back new United Nations sanctions aimed at punishing North Korea.
In Seoul, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it summoned Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xinsen on Monday and asked China to brief Seoul about Kim's visit.
Separately, South Korean Unification Minister Hyun In-taek met with Zhang yesterday and called on China to play a "responsible role" amid the North-South tensions, according to his spokesman Chun Hae-sung.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu fended off repeated questions about Kim's visit, saying only: "The arrangement of receiving a foreign leader is always decided through bilateral consultations."
Kim traveled to Dalian on Monday after a luxury 17-car train carrying him pulled into the Chinese city of Dandong, South Korean and Japanese media reports said. Kim is known to shun travel by air.
No official announcements have been made about Kim's trip, his first journey abroad in years. He is expected to meet President Hu Jintao and other leaders.
Kim was seen by reporters in the port city of Dalian yesterday getting into a car and being driven away in a 10-vehicle motorcade.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said he visited factories in an industrial zone in Dalian, where Japanese and South Korean firms have operations.
Nuke weapons
Japanese and South Korean media then reported he left Dalian by road at around 4pm headed for the city of Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province that borders North Korea.
They said Kim was dining with provincial officials and would continue by train to Beijing.
The trip comes amid speculation that North Korea may heed calls from China and elsewhere to return to negotiations on ending the country's nuclear weapons program.
Overshadowing the visit, however, was speculation Kim's government may have torpedoed the South Korean warship in March.
In Seoul yesterday, President Lee Myung-bak said the sinking of the Cheonan warship was not a "simple accident," as officials inched closer to blaming North Korea for the incident, in which 46 sailors were killed.
Lee made it clear for the first time that he saw a North Korean link in the sinking, which followed an explosion in disputed waters near the Koreas' maritime border.
If South Korea declares Pyongyang responsible for the sinking, it could look to China to back new United Nations sanctions aimed at punishing North Korea.
In Seoul, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it summoned Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xinsen on Monday and asked China to brief Seoul about Kim's visit.
Separately, South Korean Unification Minister Hyun In-taek met with Zhang yesterday and called on China to play a "responsible role" amid the North-South tensions, according to his spokesman Chun Hae-sung.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu fended off repeated questions about Kim's visit, saying only: "The arrangement of receiving a foreign leader is always decided through bilateral consultations."
Kim traveled to Dalian on Monday after a luxury 17-car train carrying him pulled into the Chinese city of Dandong, South Korean and Japanese media reports said. Kim is known to shun travel by air.
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