[USFK Forums] Kim Jong-il seems to be close to end of his China trip; reports [Yonhap

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Monday, January 16, 2006

Kim Jong-il seems to be close to end of his China trip; reports

BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il appeared to be near the end of his secretive China visit on Monday on a rare overseas trip believed to be aimed at studying remedies for his country's ailing economy, media reports said.

There was no official confirmation of Kim's trip to China which reportedly had begun a week ago but he and his party were photographed while staying in Shenzen, a high-tech city near Hong Kong, over the weekend.

News reports said that the 63-year-old leader had earlier toured another Chinese commercial hub in Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, accompanied by retired former Chinese President, Jiang Zemin.

Xingtao Daily, a pro-Beijing newspaper published in Hong Kong, said Monday that the train carrying Kim was seen leaving Shenzen after inspecting port facilities and two major technology groups based in the city, Huawei and Han's Laser.

Another pro-Beijing Hong Kong newspaper, Wenhuipo, reported that the North Korean leader was heading to Beijing where he was expected to meet President Hu Jintao and other top Chinese leaders.

Shenzen is the first Chinese special economic zone. A train ride from there to Beijing takes about 30 hours.

"On this trip, Kim is taking the same inspection route the late Chinese leader Deng Xiapong took when he spearheaded market reforms in 1979," said Kim Yon-chul, a North Korean affairs professor at Seoul's Korea University.

The South Korean scholar compared Shenzen's role in the early stage of China's economic development with North Korea's effort to develop its border city of Kaesong with South Korean investment.

Kaesong, a few kilometers from the heavily armed border with South Korea, is where thousands of North Korean workers, hired by South Korean firms, are manufacturing kitchenware, garments, watches and other labor-intensive products.

North Korea is eager to develop Kaesong into a major business enclave for foreign investment. South Korean officials say that the number of their plants there would increase from the present 15 to several hundred in a few years.

North Korea's centralized economy is in tatters, and experts believe the impoverished country has no future without outside investment. The prolonged nuclear tension adds to its plight.

China is under pressure from the U.S. and other regional powers to use its influence to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. China is North Korea's only remaining major communist ally and its main aid provider.

In September, North Korea promised to give up its nuclear ambitions in exchange for economic aid and a security guarantee but subsequent talks stalled over the North's objection to U.S. financial sanctions related to its allegedly illicit activities, including currency counterfeiting and drug trafficking.

North Korea vows not to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear program unless the U.S. sanctions are lifted. The U.S. has turned down the North's demand, saying the sanctions are a law-enforcement issue.

In keeping with its past practice, China is expected to confirm Kim's trip -- the fourth since 2000 -- after he has returned home. The Chinese president, Hu, visited North Korea in October.

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