ID :
80658
Fri, 09/18/2009 - 23:32
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/80658
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North Korea`s nominal No. 2 meets with China`s special envoy
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's titular No. 2 leader Kim Yong-nam has
met with a Chinese presidential envoy who was in Pyongyang as part of diplomatic
efforts to bring the country back to negotiations over its nuclear drive.
Dai Bingguo, Chinese state councilor who arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday as a
special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao, was widely expected to be granted a
meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during his visit.
Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of
North Korea, and the Chinese envoy shared views to "consolidate and further
promote the traditional DPRK (North Korea)-China friendship" in Thursday's
meeting, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said Friday.
The two watched a classic Chinese opera reenacted by North Korean artists, "The
Dream of the Red Chamber," at the Pyongyang Grand Theater, the report said. The
allies are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their relations this year.
Given Dai's capacity as presidential envoy, there was a high possibility of his
meeting with the North Korean leader. The North's Korean Central News Agency
(KCNA) said Thursday that Kim has traveled north to inspect dam construction
sites, but the date of the trip was not given as customary.
"It is the top priority task in building a thriving nation to satisfactorily
settle the shortage of electricity," Kim Jong-il was quoted as saying during
field guidance visits to the Ryongrim Dam of Huichon Power Station No. 1. and the
dam of Huichon Power Station No. 2. in Jagang Province.
On Wednesday, Dai exchanged "candid and in-depth" views with North Korea's first
vice foreign minister, Kang Sok-ju, about bilateral relations and international
issues, the KCNA said. Kang is in charge of the North's diplomacy on the
six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear weapons program.
Dai was accompanied by Wu Dawei, China's chief envoy to the nuclear talks that
also involves South Korea, the U.S., Japan and Russia.
The visit came ahead of an expected trip to Pyongyang by Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao early next month to mediate envisioned one-on-one talks between North
Korea and the United States.
The U.S. was expected to start bilateral talks with North Korea as early as late
October to bring the North back to the six-party talks, a senior diplomatic
official in Seoul had said.
North Korea previously pledged to terminate its nuclear drive in exchange for
diplomatic and economic benefits from other members of the talks but quit the
forum in April in protest at U.N. sanctions imposed over its long-range rocket
test. The country conducted its second nuclear test in May, drawing stronger U.N.
sanctions.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's titular No. 2 leader Kim Yong-nam has
met with a Chinese presidential envoy who was in Pyongyang as part of diplomatic
efforts to bring the country back to negotiations over its nuclear drive.
Dai Bingguo, Chinese state councilor who arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday as a
special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao, was widely expected to be granted a
meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during his visit.
Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of
North Korea, and the Chinese envoy shared views to "consolidate and further
promote the traditional DPRK (North Korea)-China friendship" in Thursday's
meeting, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said Friday.
The two watched a classic Chinese opera reenacted by North Korean artists, "The
Dream of the Red Chamber," at the Pyongyang Grand Theater, the report said. The
allies are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their relations this year.
Given Dai's capacity as presidential envoy, there was a high possibility of his
meeting with the North Korean leader. The North's Korean Central News Agency
(KCNA) said Thursday that Kim has traveled north to inspect dam construction
sites, but the date of the trip was not given as customary.
"It is the top priority task in building a thriving nation to satisfactorily
settle the shortage of electricity," Kim Jong-il was quoted as saying during
field guidance visits to the Ryongrim Dam of Huichon Power Station No. 1. and the
dam of Huichon Power Station No. 2. in Jagang Province.
On Wednesday, Dai exchanged "candid and in-depth" views with North Korea's first
vice foreign minister, Kang Sok-ju, about bilateral relations and international
issues, the KCNA said. Kang is in charge of the North's diplomacy on the
six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear weapons program.
Dai was accompanied by Wu Dawei, China's chief envoy to the nuclear talks that
also involves South Korea, the U.S., Japan and Russia.
The visit came ahead of an expected trip to Pyongyang by Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao early next month to mediate envisioned one-on-one talks between North
Korea and the United States.
The U.S. was expected to start bilateral talks with North Korea as early as late
October to bring the North back to the six-party talks, a senior diplomatic
official in Seoul had said.
North Korea previously pledged to terminate its nuclear drive in exchange for
diplomatic and economic benefits from other members of the talks but quit the
forum in April in protest at U.N. sanctions imposed over its long-range rocket
test. The country conducted its second nuclear test in May, drawing stronger U.N.
sanctions.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
