N. Korean leader Kim holds talks with China's premier

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il held talks with China's
visiting premier on Monday, a Chinese report said, in a highly anticipated
meeting many hope would break Pyongyang's nuclear standoff with the outside
world.
Premier Wen Jiabao was on a three-day visit to the North to celebrate the 60th
anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic relations.
Wen held "talks with top DPRK (North Korea) leader Kim Jong-il Monday night,"
Xinhua News Agency said. Details of the meeting were not yet disclosed.
Regional countries are watching whether Kim would move forward to restart
negotiations over Pyongyang's nuclear program.
Kim told a visiting Chinese envoy, Dai Bingguo, in September that his country was
open to multilateral, as well as bilateral, talks to resolve the nuclear
standoff, but it was not clear whether he meant the stalled six-party talks. The
talks involve the Koreas, the U.S., Japan, Russia and host China.
Pyongyang quit the multilateral forum in April, saying it would "never" return to
it, to protest U.N. sanctions over its long-range rocket test. The rocket launch
was widely viewed as an illicit test of its missile technology. In May, the North
further stoked tensions by testing its nuclear device.
North Korea has been insisting on one-on-one talks with the U.S. over its atomic
program. Washington had initially demanded Pyongyang first return to the
six-party talks but is now considering direct talks to push the negotiations
forward.
U.S. special envoy on North Korea Stephen Bosworth is expected to decide whether
to visit North Korea for bilateral talks after analyzing the results of Wen's
trip.
In a meeting with Wen on Sunday, North Korean Premier Kim Yong-il blamed the
United States for the nuclear standoff but reaffirmed the country's intent on
"bilateral and multilateral dialogues."
The North's nuclear issue is expected to be a major topic when South Korean
President Lee Myung-bak holds a three-way summit with Wen and Japan's new Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Beijing on Saturday.
Earlier Monday, Wen held talks with Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's nominal No. 2
leader as president of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and vowed
to strengthen the alliance.
"Both China and the DPRK face important tasks of developing their respective
economies and improving people's standard of living, and need to make further
efforts to strengthen friendly cooperation," Wen was quoted as telling Kim
Yong-nam by Xinhua.
The premier also visited a cemetery for Chinese soldiers who died fighting for
North Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War. Among the 134 Chinese buried in the
cemetery outside Pyongyang is Mao Anying, son of the late Chinese leader Mao
Zedong, the report said.
Kim Jong-il and Chinese President Hu Jintao exchanged congratulatory messages on
the diplomatic anniversary.
The establishment of China-DPRK relations on Oct. 6, 1949 was "epoch-making" and
China will "further promote good neighborly, friendly and cooperative relations,"
Hu said.
Kim called the alliance a "precious common wealth."
The two countries signed a series of accords ranging from economic assistance and
cooperation in technology, education and tourism. Wen's is the highest-ranking
Chinese visit to Pyongyang since Hu's trip there in 2005 and the first by a
Chinese premier in 18 years.
The North's top leader Kim greeted him at the airport, a protocol usually
reserved for heads of state. Crowds of colorfully-clad citizens gave him a
roaring welcome on the city streets.
Wen is scheduled to return home after attending the closing ceremony of the
anniversary celebrations later Tuesday.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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