The big story of the past week was North Korean leader’ Kim Jong-Il’s sudden and long visit to China. As is his M.O., Kim travelled by private armored car. The trip was unannounced and caused rampant speculation among Pyongyang-observers that the occupant was actually leader-to-be Kim Jong-Un, off to meet Chinese leadership in much the same was his father prepared for succession in 1983. China officially announced that Kim Jong-Il was in the country, but was secretive about his agenda and whereabouts. KCNA, North Korea’s state-run media outlet, also made the rare move of publishing that the Dear Leader was in China—such announcements are usually not made until he is safely returned home.
Kim travelled with an entourage of 70 senior officials, including de facto second-in-command Jang Song-Thaek, and Kim Jong-Il’s fourth wife, Kim Ok (pictured). The trip seemed entirely economic based, and possibly set up to be a crash course on Chinese economic reform that the Chinese have been pushing North Korea towards for years.
Here’s the rough summary of the events over the 7 day and over 6000km trip:
- Kim Jong-Il’s armored train crosses border at Chinese city of Tumen at 6:20AM local time.
- Changchun – Kim does an inspection trip to automobile manufacturing plant.
- Mudanjiang City – Kim visits a site honouring his father, Kim Il-Sung for his guerilla efforts against the Japanese.
- Mudanjiang City – A welcome party is held for Kim and entourage, with Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo as host.
- Yangzhou – Kim tours an economic development zone.
- Yangzhou – Kim stays in a luxurious state guesthouse.
- Yangzhou – Dinner & theatre with former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, of which both Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il have had good relations with.
- Nanjing – Kim Jong-Il visits a Panda Electronics store.
- Beijing – Kim Jong-Il and Chinese leader Hu Jintao meet for a summit.
- Beijing – Kim demonstrates a desire to return to Six Party Talks aimed at dunuclearizing Korea.
- Beijing – Kim notes for the third time (and on his third trip to China in a year) the desire for strong relations between the countries to be passed to the "younger generations".
- Beijing – Hu issued a 5 step proposal that can basically be summed up: increase communication between the two countries, and the support and cooperationg between DPRK and China can continue, and cooperation on crucial international and regional issues (ie. stop attacking the South).
- Beijing – Kim invites Hu to North Korea, which is accepted.
- Beijing – A banquet is held in honour of Kim.
- Beijing – Kim’s train departs Beijing on Thursday at 2:00PM.
- Dandong – Kim returns to North Korea by train, and is welcomed at the border by son Kim Jong-Un, sister Kim Kyonng-Hui and other senior officials.
It seems to me that there was a lot of empty agreement coming from the North on opening up with economic reforms. In turn, China seemingly didn’t make any multi-billion dollar commitments to the North either, which is likely what the DPRK Leader was hoping for. Groundbreaking ceremonies were set to kick off May 24th for the Hwanggumpyong joint econonomic zone (discussed earlier) on the Yalu river bordering the two countries, as well as for new development projects in the Northeastern Rason economic zone. However, these ceremonies were cancelled and I’m unable to discover whether these plans are simply on hold or headed to another fate.
The full details of the tour are best described by the North Korea Leadership Watch blog. The coverage includes candid photos, charted routes overlaid on Google Earth and other great detail from all the right sources, including Yonhap, The Chosun Ilbo, Xinhua, DailyNK, the Hankoryeh, and more. Start here and work your way through, if interested.
Source: North Korea Leadership Watch
