ID :
183297
Fri, 05/20/2011 - 09:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/183297
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N. Korea's heir apparent Kim Jong-un visits China
(2nd LD) SEOUL/BEIJING, May 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's heir apparent son, Kim Jong-un, arrived in China by train Friday, a source in a Chinese border city said, in an apparent move to win formal support for the power succession from key ally China.
The junior Kim appeared to be heading to Mudanjiang in northeast China after arriving in the Chinese border city of Tumen early Friday morning, the source in Tumen told Yonhap News Agency. The source asked not to be identified, citing the issue's sensitivity.
The route indicated that the leader-in-waiting could tour the areas in China his father visited in August last year before returning to Pyongyang.
Kim Jong-un is also expected to visit the city of Harbin in Heilongjiang Province and Changchun in Jilin Province, home to a middle school that North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, his grandfather, attended as a teenager.
In August, the senior Kim made a pilgrimage to the school in Jilin, which Pyongyang considers to be a holy place. The late leader's armed struggle against Japanese colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45 is a main element in North Korea's propaganda.
"It remains to be seen whether he was traveling alone or together with Kim Jong-il. But it is believed thus far that he was visiting China alone. His final destination doesn't appear to be Beijing," said a ranking government official in Seoul.
The North's leader-in-waiting may meet with Vice Premier Xi Jinping, China's future leader, in Changchun.
The trip marks the younger Kim's first visit to China since the North Korean leader named his youngest son vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Worker's Party and a four-star general last September.
Little is known about the North's next leader aside from his education in Switzerland and admiration of retired NBA star Michael Jordan.
The trip is widely aimed at winning Chinese endorsement for what would mark the communist regime's second hereditary power succession.
Another South Korean government official said on condition of anonymity that the trip is seen as an attempt to show the world that Kim Jong-un is the successor to Kim Jong-il rather than a visit that would achieve anything substantial.
"Kim Jong-il wants to show Kim Jong-un to the Chinese in his new capacity. It is good training for an apprentice dictator," said Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Kookmin University in Seoul.
He said the Chinese are interested in the new leader to get some impression of him, and perhaps to figure out how to influence him, though Lankov said he would not expect much serious talk to happen.
Kim Jong-il has ruled the North with an iron fist since 1994 when he took over the country of 24 million people after the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.
China is the North's last remaining ally and benefactor and has hosted international talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs since 2003.
The junior Kim appeared to be heading to Mudanjiang in northeast China after arriving in the Chinese border city of Tumen early Friday morning, the source in Tumen told Yonhap News Agency. The source asked not to be identified, citing the issue's sensitivity.
The route indicated that the leader-in-waiting could tour the areas in China his father visited in August last year before returning to Pyongyang.
Kim Jong-un is also expected to visit the city of Harbin in Heilongjiang Province and Changchun in Jilin Province, home to a middle school that North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, his grandfather, attended as a teenager.
In August, the senior Kim made a pilgrimage to the school in Jilin, which Pyongyang considers to be a holy place. The late leader's armed struggle against Japanese colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45 is a main element in North Korea's propaganda.
"It remains to be seen whether he was traveling alone or together with Kim Jong-il. But it is believed thus far that he was visiting China alone. His final destination doesn't appear to be Beijing," said a ranking government official in Seoul.
The North's leader-in-waiting may meet with Vice Premier Xi Jinping, China's future leader, in Changchun.
The trip marks the younger Kim's first visit to China since the North Korean leader named his youngest son vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Worker's Party and a four-star general last September.
Little is known about the North's next leader aside from his education in Switzerland and admiration of retired NBA star Michael Jordan.
The trip is widely aimed at winning Chinese endorsement for what would mark the communist regime's second hereditary power succession.
Another South Korean government official said on condition of anonymity that the trip is seen as an attempt to show the world that Kim Jong-un is the successor to Kim Jong-il rather than a visit that would achieve anything substantial.
"Kim Jong-il wants to show Kim Jong-un to the Chinese in his new capacity. It is good training for an apprentice dictator," said Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Kookmin University in Seoul.
He said the Chinese are interested in the new leader to get some impression of him, and perhaps to figure out how to influence him, though Lankov said he would not expect much serious talk to happen.
Kim Jong-il has ruled the North with an iron fist since 1994 when he took over the country of 24 million people after the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.
China is the North's last remaining ally and benefactor and has hosted international talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs since 2003.
