[USFK Forums] Kim Jong-il's China Trip 'Tracks Economic Reforms' [Chosun Ilbo]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Saturday, January 14, 2006

Updated Jan.13,2006 20:45 KST

Kim Jong-il's China Trip 'Tracks Economic Reforms'

Kim Jong-il Makes Surprise China Visit

More clues surfaced on Friday about a secretive visit by North Korea’s Kim Jong-il to China, which suggest the reclusive leader is trying to educate himself about China’s economic reforms. Sources said Kim left Wuhan, Hubei Province for Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, after entering from Dangdong, which shares a border with Shinuiju, early in the morning on Tuesday.

The fact that Kim’s final destination was Guangdong Province, the epicenter of Chinese economic reforms, suggests the main purpose of the visit is to learn from the country’s remarkable economic boom, a Chinese diplomatic source said.

Some 30 luxury sedans and buses apparently carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his entourage are escorted by police to the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China, at around 9 a.m. on Friday in this video grab from Japan’s NTV.

A Wuhan government official said Kim arrived at Hankou train station on Wednesday morning, and several witnesses say he visited the Three Gorges Dam, a four-hour drive from the station. A plane by Air Koryo, North Korea’s national carrier, with a North Korean delegation was seen in the morning on the same day at Wuhan airport, where it does not operate regular flights.

The North Korean delegation is said to have visited factories in the city’s economic development zone.

The White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou was under heavy guard from 2 p.m. on Thursday, with metal detectors at the entrances and the police turning up every manhole cover around the hotel. Hotels nearby forced foreign guests to check out, citing a special order from the authorities.

The guard was as heavy as when President Hu Jintao visited the city several years ago, a local source said. There are conflicting accounts when Kim arrived in Guangzhou. Hong Kong’s TVB reports that Kim arrived at the hotel after 4 p.m., with video clips showing several Mercedes cars and half a dozen buses approaching the hotel.

Another source said Kim arrived there at 8:30-9:00 p.m when traffic was heavily restricted. However, a local source says Kim was in Shenzhen at the time and the heavy traffic was temporary congestion.

It would make sense for Kim to visit not only Guangzhou but also nearby boom cities spearheading the economic reforms like Shenzhen and Zhuhai, sources said. They say Kim is trying to learn from the Chinese economy with a field trip to cities visited by Deng Xiaoping during a historic trip in 1992 to stress the importance of reform and opening.


(englishnews@chosun.com )