North Korea's Kim Expected to Meet with Chinese President
VOA News
05 May 2010
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has reportedly arrived in Beijing for talks with high-ranking Chinese officials.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency says the Mr. Kim arrived in the Chinese capital Wednesday by armored train, and was taken by motorcade to the city's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Mr. Kim was reported to have stopped in Dalian Monday and the port city of Tianjin earlier Wednesday.
The reclusive North Korean leader is expected to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday. Their talks are likely to center on financial assistance and North Korea's refusal to participate in the China-hosted six-nation talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program.
Beijing has been trying unsuccessfully to convince Mr. Kim to embrace reforms to turn around North Korea's stagnant economy, which has also suffered from United Nations sanctions imposed after Pyongyang withdrew from nuclear talks.
The North Korean leader's trip to China also comes amid growing tensions between North Korea and South Korea. Speculation has grown recently that Pyongyang's military sank a South Korean naval ship, killing 46 sailors in March.
South Korean news agency Yonhap says North Korea has deployed as many as 50,000 of its special forces along the border with the South.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.
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