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By Jia Cheng A US delegation arrived in North Korea to evaluate the country's request for food aid, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il continued his third travel to China in a year. Tuesday, Kim toured the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, including a visit to the Stone City in Nanjing's Qingliang Park and a LCD technology enterprise. A source working at Nanjing Lukou International Airport Tuesday dismissed a statement saying Kim Jong-un had arrived in Nanjing on an Air Koryo flight. Kim left Nanjing for Beijing Tuesday afternoon, and was suspected to stop in Jinan for one night since streets around the city's train station were blocked. Meanwhile, Special envoy for the North Korea's human rights, Robert King, leads a team of five to assess the North's pleas for food. The visit is the first official US visit to Pyongyang in 17 months, according to Reuters. AFP quoted Samaritan's Purse, one of five US groups that visited the North earlier this year, as saying that a harsh winter had reduced crop yields by half and that some people had resorted to eating grass, leaves and tree bark to survive. King's trip comes after the UN issued a report about North Korea's need for food aid in March, saying that the country's production in the past year was well below what is needed to feed its 24 million people, with harvests hit by bad weather. More than 6 million people are in urgent need of outside assistance, Reuters said. Lü Chao, director of the Center of South Korea Studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that King's trip would bring benefits by resuming US food and economic aid to North Korea. However, Reuters said that the US has stressed that King's trip does not signify an imminent resumption of aid. The country suspended humanitarian aid two years ago over a monitoring dispute and has said it will only resume them with South Korea's agreement. A series of moves, including former US president Jimmy Carter's criticism of Washington and Seoul for withholding aid after his visit to Pyongyang last month, could help speed matters along, Lü said. As for the North leader's visit to China, it has been led with two purposes: economic aid and political support. Cai Jian, deputy director of the Center for Korean Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times that Kim's visit is seeking China's support for the country's food crisis and his power transfer to heir apparent Kim Jong-un. Agencies and Wang Jia contributed to this story |
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