CHINA REMAINS SILENT ON POSSIBLE KIM JONG IL VISIT
Baku, August 27 (AZERTAC). The Chinese government maintains silence about reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is in China. News organizations, including Chinese media, report heavy security and high-level motorcades in a northeastern Chinese city where Mr. Kim is believed to be visiting.
Television news Friday showed a 30-car motorcade, believed to be Kim Jong Il`s, zooming through the northeastern city of Jilin, and signs of increased security there.
The Foreign Ministry has not confirmed reports that the North Korean leader has been visiting China.
News reports say Mr. Kim brought his son and heir apparent Kim Jong Un.
Nicholas Thomas, Asian studies professor at Hong Kong`s City University, says he thinks Chinese leaders would want to get a sense of Mr. Kim`s successor. "China is only willing to support North Korea so long as North Korean actions do not present a destabilizing effect for China on its periphery. And I think that is part of the getting-to-know-you approach with this transition," Thomas said.
Mr. Kim left Pyongyang while former President Jimmy Carter was there on a private trip to seek the release of an imprisoned American.
Even though President Carter`s trip was unofficial, Thomas says the timing of Mr. Kim`s trip could have been intentional, to give North Korean policymakers time to define their position regarding the United States.
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