North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s secretive visit to China the second this year, has now been confirmed but his agenda there is still unclear. From Reuters:
China kept silent on Friday about a reported visit by North Korea’s secretive leader Kim Jong-il that analysts say is to line up Beijing behind his dynastic succession plans.
Coinciding with Kim’s visit to China, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter left Pyongyang on Friday with an American, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who had been jailed for illegally entering the country.
There was no indication that Carter met Kim, although state media in the North said number two leader Kim Yong Nam had told Carter that Pyongyang was committed to denuclearizing the peninsula and resuming six-way talks.
From AsianCorrespondent:
See also “China Expressway From Jilin-Changchun Closed as Kim Makes Tour” from Business Week; “Why Has Kim Jong-il Gone to China?” from Newsweek, and “Who’s Riding on Kim Jong-il’s Armored Train This Time?” from Chosun Ilbo.
