N. Korean leader out of town as U.S. envoy prepares to depart Pyongyang

SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il toured a tractor
factory and a cattle farm in a northern town, state media said Thursday, possibly
indicating that a meeting with a visiting U.S. envoy is unlikely.
Kim provided field guidance at the newly-built Kanggye Stock Farm and the Kanggye
General Tractor Plant in Kanggye, Jagang Province, said the Korean Central News
Agency (KCNA) in separate dispatches. As is customary, the reports did not give
the date of his visit, but Kim's movements are usually reported the following
day.
The provincial tour renders any meeting with Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. special
representative for North Korea policy, unlikely as he is expected back in South
Korea later Thursday. The envoy for U.S. President Barack Obama was in Pyongyang
on a three-day mission to restart the six-party talks on ending the North's
nuclear program.
North Korean media kept silent about who Bosworth was meeting with and what was
discussed except for a brief dispatch about his arrival on Tuesday.
At the newly-built cattle farm, Kim watched as a variety of milk products,
including butter, cheese and yogurt was "churned out in an endless stream from
the processing room equipped with ultra-modern facilities", the KCNA said in an
English language report.
Kim's public appearance comes 10 days after he reportedly visited an orchard.
In both visits, he was accompanied by the Workers' Party secretary Kim Ki-nam and
party department directors Pak Nam-gi, Kim Kyong-hui and Jang Song-thaek, the
KCNA said. Kim Kyong-hui is the leader's only sister, and Jang is her husband.
The pair is believed to be aiding the senior Kim's alleged power transfer to his
third and youngest son, Kim Jong-un.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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