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By Wang Zhaokun North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is in China for his second visit there this year, according to a report by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency Thursday. "(We) detected indications a few days ago," the agency quoted an official in South Korea's presidential office as saying. "Chairman Kim's special train has been confirmed to have left Manpo for China's Jilin around midnight Wednesday." Kim's special train crossed into China around midnight Wednesday, toward the north-eastern Chinese border city of Ji'an, the official said. However, neither China nor North Korea has confirmed the report yet. The report of Kim's visit to China came ahead of a crucial national conference of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) - the ruling party in North Korea. New leaders, including, analysts say, Kim Jong-il's youngest son and presumed political heir, Kim Jong-un, are expected to be elected at the conference. Speculation about a power transfer in North Korea has intensified since Kim Jong-Il, 68, reportedly suffered a stroke in August 2008. North Korea announced in June that the Politburo of the WPK decided to convene a national party conference in September, the first time such a conference is going to held in over 40 years. Two similar conferences held before were in 1958 and 1966. Kim Jong-il began his official role to succeed to his father, Kim Il-sung, in a party congress in 1980 after he was designated a member of the party's Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Central Committee, a secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee and a member of the Military Committee. Cai Jian, an expert on Korean affairs at Fudan University told the Global Times that the major reason for Kim's reported visit to China is possibly to inform Beijing of Pyongyang's political situation. "There will be some major change to be made in North Korea's leadership at the up-coming national party conference. So it's possible for Kim to inform Chinese leaders of the situation," Cai said. "Of course, Pyongyang may ask Beijing for some economic and food aid as well," he added. Kim's reported trip to China came one day after former US president Jimmy Carter's visit to North Korea. Carter arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday to seek the release of an American citizen who was imprisoned by North Korea for illegally crossing into the country. However, it remains unknown if Kim Jong-il had met with Carter. Agencies contributed to this story |
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